Skoda celebrates 125 years in business
Skoda Auto has revealed plans to deliver at least 10 new electric models before the end of 2022 as it celebrates two special anniversaries for the company.
This year marks 125 years since the Czech company’s founding by Vaclav Laurin and Vaclav Klement, and 115 years since building its first car.
Bernhard Maier, chief executive of Skoda, says the brand is one of the world’s five oldest carmakers still active today.
“The courage and ingenuity of the two founders, Vaclav Laurin and Vaclav Klement, are the cornerstone of this unique success story and at the same time an obligation and incentive to lead the company towards a prosperous future,” he explains. “This is precisely what we are doing through our Strategy 2025, transforming Skoda Auto from a car manufacturer into a ‘Simply Clever Company for the best mobility solutions’.”
Skoda plans to shift further into the world of electromobility in 2020 and plans to unveil the series-production version of the Vision iV in the first half of the year. The all-electric SUV is the brand’s first vehicle to be based on the Volkswagen Group’s Modular Electric Platform.
As part of its ongoing product campaign, Skoda aims to launch 30 new models from 2019 to the end of 2022, more than 10 of which will be partially or fully electric.
Beginning with bicycles
Laurin and Klement laid the foundations for Skoda’s rise in December 1895 when they started the repair and production of bicycles in the central Bohemian town of Mlada Boleslav. The company named after them, Laurin & Klement (L&K), would soon offer numerous two and three-wheelers in several dozen versions, and the production of motorcycles started in 1899.
The first Laurin & Klement car, the Voiturette A, made its debut as early as 1905. L&K expanded its model range and soon also offered high-performance sports and commercial vehicles. Today, the marque delivers 1.24 million vehicles to customers in more than 100 countries every year.
In 1925, Laurin & Klement merged with the mechanical engineering group Skoda, which secured vital capital for expansion. Since then, the winged arrow has been featured in the brand logo of the vehicles from Mlada Boleslav.
Skoda has numerous activities planned for 2020 to celebrate its anniversary, including historically significant models taking part in driving events in China and India as well as other international markets. The company is also launching a marketing campaign on social networks under the slogan “Driving inventiveness since 1895”.
A number of Skoda models will also be celebrating anniversaries of their world premieres or market launches in 2020. Among them is the 935 Dynamic, which launched in 1935, and the Octavia Combi, which made its debut 60 years ago.
