“The automotive industry is facing a turning point and new pioneering days: digitalisation, electrification and urbanisation are also penetrating the automotive industry, our products and their usage with ever-increasing intensity,” said ŠKODA CEO Bernhard Maier, adding, “New business areas are generated as a result, which offer great potential and new opportunities. In the Czech Republic, we must create the conditions for the car of tomorrow in a timely manner to be able to continue the successful course of the Czech automotive industry in the future.” The focus of the colloquium is therefore on digital technologies, topics regarding training and electromobility, and future mobility concepts in connection with autonomous vehicles.
ŠKODA welcomes the commitment of the Czech government: with the ‘Colloquium for the Future of the Automotive Industry in the Czech Republic’, they are making an important contribution to the continuing competitiveness of the domestic automotive industry.
“As the host of the event and as the largest industrial enterprise in the country, encouraging exchanges between the economy and politics with regard to the challenges facing the Czech Republic as a hub for the automotive industry is a matter that is particularly close to our hearts. ŠKODA will therefore participate extensively in the event and support the Czech government in analysing the current situation and identifying the areas for action”, said Maier.
With the Strategy 2025, ŠKODA has already developed its own roadmap for technological change and the company’s long-term growth. With this, the long-established Czech company aims to grow in two dimensions: vehicle sales are to continue to be increased consistently; in addition, new business areas will be developed for innovative mobility services.
One component of this future-oriented strategy is the new DigiLab in Prague which is allowing the company to strengthen its innovation and digital development expertise. Creative teams are researching and developing new business models there. In particular, this will include greater integration of digital technologies into ŠKODA’s existing core business and the development of innovative connectivity and mobility services. ŠKODA intends to develop new business areas offering modern services for individual mobility.
In ŠKODA’s home country, the automotive industry is one of the economy’s pillars and provides prosperity and technical progress. It contributes nine per cent to the gross national product of the Czech Republic and is one of the most important employers, providing work for more than 150,000 people – and rising. The automotive industry accounts for 25 per cent of all Czech exports.
