“Producing ten million transmissions underscores the competitiveness of our component manufacturing,” says SKODA Board Member for Production Michael Oeljeklaus, adding: “The transmissions built in Mladá Boleslav and the DSG gearboxes produced in Vrchlabí boast the highest quality and reliability in daily use by millions of drivers.”
ŠKODA AUTO currently produces three types of gearbox, which are used in the ŠKODA model range. Last year, a total of 300,000 MQ200 transmissions, more than 325,000 MQ/SQ100 transmissions and approximately 469,000 DQ200 transmissions were produced.
The MQ 200 gearbox has been running off the production lines in Mladá Boleslav since 2000. It is used in petrol engines with displacements of 1.0 to 1.6 litres. These include current ŠKODA vehicles, as well as models made by Volkswagen, Audi and Seat. The production volume for the MQ 200 is currently around 1900 units per day; more than 6.5 million gearboxes of this type have been produced already.
Since 2011, the MQ100 / SQ100 transmission has also been built in Mladá Boleslav. Originally, these transmissions were developed for the ‘New-Small-Family’ models of the Volkswagen Group (ŠKODA CITIGO, VW up! and Seat Mii). The MQ100 / SQ100 transmissions have since been used in the ŠKODA FABIA and other small cars of the Volkswagen Group, each in combination with 1.0-litre petrol engines. The daily production volume is around 1400 units. To date, more than 1.6 million of these transmissions have been produced.
In addition to manual transmissions, ŠKODA AUTO also produces the automatic dual clutch transmission (DSG). The DQ200 seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox is one of the most modern gearboxes of its kind in the automotive industry. Today the Vrchlabí workforce produces around 2100 units of this gearbox type every day, recently passing the 1.8 million mark. Cooperating robots are used for the production of DSG transmissions at the Vrchlabí plant. They support the employees in one of the most sensitive tasks in transmission manufacturing – inserting the gear actuator piston. A handling robot is also used, which can supply dozens of machines with parts and take empty containers back to the warehouse.
In 2012, the Vrchlabí site was transformed from a vehicle construction plant to an ultra-modern component manufacturing location. Within 18 months, a new factory was built and the existing production halls were modernized. The factory was awarded the European title ‘Factory of the Year 2015’ two years ago. The rapid changeover from a vehicle construction site to a component plant won it the title ‘Factory of the Year’ in the category ‘Outstanding location development’. Additional awards followed.
“The plant in Vrchlabí is now one of the most important DSG plants in the Volkswagen Group”, says ŠKODA Head of Component Manufacturing Frank Engel. “Our awards fill us with pride, but at the same time, they represent an obligation. I am convinced that thanks to the expertise, commitment and high flexibility of the local workforce, the Vrchlabí plant has a great future.”
