“We have been building vehicles for 118 years and automobiles since the year 1905.”
Skoda has produced its 15-millionth car, a silver, Octavia – rolled off the assembly line at Šcoda’s main plant in Mladá Boleslav during the first week of February. The Octavia will be used as a VIP sedan at the Škoda Technology Center in Česana. The new Skoda Octavia is now being launched in the Czech Republic and Germany, while other markets will follow in coming weeks. In total, Skoda will launch eight new or face lifted models in 2013.
The 15 million car represents the ongoing growth of the entry level brand, which was accelerated when it became a wholly owned subsidiary of the Volkswagen Group in 2000. Since 1996, about 3.75 million Octavias have been delivered. During the past six years, one third of the total 15 million vehicles were produced. One year ago, at the beginning of 2012, Skoda had produced its 14-millionth car.
“We have been building vehicles for 118 years, and automobiles since the year 1905. Thus we are among the automobile brands with the richest traditions in the world,” said Skoda chairman of the board Winfried Vahland.
For the production of the new Octavia, Skoda modernized its main plant in Mladá Boleslav, increasing the capacity of Octavia and Rapid models from 800 to 1,200 vehicles per day. A new body shop and a fully automated paint shop were installed at the plant.This month will see the groundbreaking for a new stamping line.The Fabia is produced on another assembly line in Mladá Boleslav.
At the Skoda plant in Kvasiny, Czech Republic, the production capacity for the Skoda Yeti was recently doubled to 100,000 vehicles per year, adding the Roomster, which came from a plant in Vrchlabí. The relocation of the Roomster allowed for the conversion of Vrchlabí into a component factory.
Since October 2012, it has been producing the direct shift transmission DQ200 with dual clutch (DSG) for the Volkswagen Group. Together with the Volkswagen Group, the Czech manufacturer invested about €170 million EUR in the preparation of the plant for DSG production.
Skoda has also been expanding in China, Russia and India.
In China, the Skoda Yeti has been built in cooperation with Shanghai Volkswagen since the end of 2012. This year will also see the introduction of the Chinese version of the Skoda Rapid, followed by the new Skoda Octavia. In Russia, the compact SUV Skoda Yeti began production at the Russian GAZ plant in Nizhniy Novgorod a few weeks ago. Beginning in mid-2013, the plant will also manufacture the new Skoda Octavia for the Russian market. The manufacture of the new Skoda Rapid for the Russian market is planned to begin in spring 2014. In India, the compact sedan Rapid has been produced for the local market at the plant in Pune alongside other Skoda models since 2011.
