ŠKODA Produces 10 Millionth Vehicle in Mladá Boleslav
ŠKODA has produced its 10 millionth vehicle in its main plant in Mladá Boleslav. The jubilee vehicle is a white Fabia Monte Carlo. The automobile came off the assembly line at the main plant of the Czech manufacturer in Mladá Boleslav and will be a highlight in the redesigned ŠKODA Automobile Museum. At the same time, the manufacturer is affirming its growth plans for the coming years.
“10 million ŠKODA automobiles produced in Mladá Boleslav alone is a testimony for the power of the automotive industry and engineering skills in the Czech Republic,” says the Chairman of the Board of ŠKODA, Prof. Dr. h.c. Winfried Vahland. “We are proud of more than 100 years of automobile manufacture in the heart of Europe. It is proof of the strength of our brand. Since 1905, when the automobile pioneers Václav Laurin and Václav Klement started to manufacture vehicles, cars ‘made in the Czech Republic’ and ‘by ŠKODA’ have enjoyed an excellent reputation with customers all over the world. Crossing the 10 million vehicle threshold is motivation for us to strengthen the growth course in the coming years. We will increase our production and sales and at least double our sales figures to 1.5 million vehicles per year by 2018.” according to Vahland.
The production jubilee marks another milestone in the successful development of the manufacturer. In the past 20 years alone, ŠKODA has been able to quadruple its worldwide sales figures. Since 1991, the model range has grown from one model to the current total of seven model series. While it still focused on the Czech Republic and Europe years ago, the manufacturer enjoys international success in more than 100 markets today.
Within the course of the ŠKODA growth strategy, in the coming years, the brand will implement the greatest model offensive of its history. In the next two to three years, ŠKODA will launch a new vehicle every six months. At this year’s Frankfurt Motor Show (IAA), the Czech manufacturer presented the vehicle “Mission L” – which constitutes a concrete outlook towards a new compact sedan. Shortly afterwards, ŠKODA introduced the new small car, “Citigo” to media representatives in Mladá Boleslav. The new compact sedan, the Citigo, and other new models guarantee that ŠKODA will successively continue its course in the coming years.
“We are putting the pedal to the metal all over the world. We see the largest potential in the growth countries of China, India and Russia. But we will also continue to expand our position in our traditional European markets,” says the Chairman of the Board of ŠKODA. For this purpose, the manufacturer is vigorously expanding its worldwide production capacities. In its home market of the Czech Republic, capacities are currently being expanded in the plants at Mladá Boleslav and Kvasiny. In Kosmonosy, a new training center will welcome the brand’s employees at the end of 2011. New production capacities are also being created beyond its home country, for example, in China and in Russia. In China, ŠKODA will produce the new compact sedan (beginning at the end of 2012) and the compact SUV “Yeti” (starting in 2013) in cooperation with Volkswagen Shanghai. In India, the car manufacturer has already started the production of a new compact sedan under the name “ŠKODA Rapid”. In Russia, the Yeti will start to come off the assembly lines of the Nizhny Novgorod plant of the vehicle manufacturer GAZ Group at the end of 2011.
