ŠKODA AUTO CEO, Thomas Schäfer, said: “We welcome the decisions on the Group’s planning regarding plant occupancy. It will provide us with the additional capacity in the Czech Republic that ŠKODA so urgently needs for growth. We have thus set the course for our brand’s expansion while remaining highly profitable. I think it’s an important sign that ŠKODA will also be assuming even more responsibility within VOLKSWAGEN Group. In addition to the region of India, we will also be managing the growth markets in Russia and North Africa. The fact that we’ve been entrusted with these tasks highlights the level of trust that VOLKSWAGEN Group’s management places in the expertise of the ŠKODA team.”
ŠKODA AUTO has been looking for additional production capacity for some time now. Relocating the manufacture of the next-generation SUPERB from Kvasiny to Bratislava in 2023 will enable ŠKODA AUTO to grow further. The relocation has been brought about by what the Group refers to as ‘plant occupancy planning’. The concept defines at Group level which models are built in which plant. In addition to ‘moving’ the SUPERB to Bratislava, the plan also sets out that production of the brand’s highly profitable flagship SUV, the KODIAQ, and its successor will remain in Kvasiny.
ŠKODA AUTO currently produces the ŠKODA KODIAQ and ŠKODA KAROQ SUVs as well as the SUPERB and the SUPERB iV plug-in hybrid at its Kvasiny plant. The availability of extra capacity will enable the company to increase the production numbers of both of these SUVs, which are in great demand, and to build another ŠKODA model at the site. What’s more, customers will benefit from the overall increase in production capacity as they will be presented with shorter lead times.
