In 2019, ŠKODA AUTO produced a total of around 590,000 vehicles at its main plant in Mladá Boleslav. A whopping 260,000 units of the OCTAVIA alone were made there; production of the bestseller’s fourth generation started at the end of October. In addition, models from the FABIA, SCALA, KAMIQ and KAROQ ranges rolled off the assembly lines at the company’s headquarters. On top of that, the Czech car manufacturer also built 570,000 engines and 570,000 MQ 200 and MQ 100 gearboxes as well as 4,000 batteries and more than 2,312,000 axles in Mladá Boleslav. Up to 168,000 bodies can be given their coat each year in the new paint shop, which opened in August 2019, taking the overall painting capacity at the brand’s headquarters to 812,000 units per year. ŠKODA AUTO invested 219.6 million euros in the new building and created more than 650 new jobs. The facility is one of the most cutting-edge and eco-friendliest of its kind in Europe.
Over the past few years, the Kvasiny plant has undergone the most extensive modernisation and expansion in its history spanning more than 85 years. ŠKODA currently produces the KODIAQ large SUV, the KAROQ compact SUV and its flagship – the SUPERB – at the site, including the SUPERB iV model variant featuring plug-in hybrid drive. The first electrified production model in the company’s history is built on the same line as the SUPERBs that are driven solely by a combustion engine. The carmaker invested a total of around 12 million euros in the necessary alterations to the manufacturing processes. Production of the SUPERB iV started in September 2019.
Vrchlabí is ŠKODA’s third location in the Czech Republic. The plant opened in 1864 and celebrated its 155th anniversary last year; it has been part of ŠKODA AUTO since 1946. Initially, the manufacturer produced cars at the site, but in 2012 – as part of a profound transformation – Vrchlabí was converted from a vehicle factory into a state-of-the-art component facility. The approximately 1,000 members of staff based there built a total of around 556,000 DQ 200 automatic direct shift transmissions in 2019, which are used in ŠKODA models as well as in vehicles from other Volkswagen Group brands.
ŠKODA is one of the largest employers in the Czech Republic
ŠKODA is active in over 100 markets around the globe, with China being the car manufacturer’s largest single market. In its home country, the Czech Republic, ŠKODA AUTO is one of the largest employers and its products account for about 9 per cent of the nation’s total exports. The company has been investing in the development of infrastructure in the regions surrounding its production sites and supporting projects to sustainably improve the quality of life there for many years now. To this end, ŠKODA AUTO works closely with partners from politics, administration and civil society. For Mladá Boleslav, the manufacturer set up an endowment fund in 2018 and provided it with a starting capital of 30 million euros. The money from the fund was used, for example, to provide the local hospital with new equipment and for the popular Rekola bike-sharing service.
| ŠKODA AUTO production in 2019 | |
| Vehicles | 910,000 |
| Engines | 570,000 |
| Axles | 2,312,000 |
| Bodies | 168,000 |
| Batteries | 4,000 |
| Gearboxes | 1,126,000 |
| DQ 200 | 556,000 |
| MQ 200, MQ 100 | 570,000 |
