“For decades, innovations in digital technology have been setting the pace in many areas of our lives and our industry,” says ŠKODA CEO Bernhard Maier. “This development is happening with such force and penetration that it dwarfs everything the industry has experienced in the past. The car is only a part of the broader revolution. By utilizing innovative technologies we will make our customers’ lives on the road easier, more effective and more interesting.”
Digitisation is a key action point under ŠKODA’s recently announced Strategy 2025. As a cross-function, this will involve all areas of the company – from the education and training of the workforce, vehicle development with the aid of modern virtual reality and 3D technologies, to car production according to guiding principle of industry 4.0. In the future, digitisation will have an increasingly strong influence on ŠKODA’s traditional business sector of automobile manufacturing.
ŠKODA’s CEO Bernhard Maier explains the implications of digitisation on the automotive industry by analogy with the evolution of the telephone: “Its invention meant a revolution for humanity because it would allow real-time voice communication over long distances. There are more telephones now than ever before. However, their nature and uses have completely changed. For the telecommunications industry, that meant completely transforming their business model. The automotive industry is awaiting a similar transformation.”
