For the SKODA AUTO, 28 March 2021 marks the 30th anniversary of a
important event: on this day in 1991, the Accession Convention was signed
of the company 'SKODA, automobilová akciová společnost' in Volkswagen Group. Since then, the manufacturer
based in Mladá Boleslav, 70 km from Prague, has
evolved from a popular brand in a regional market to a dynamically
developing world brand, with
activity in more than 100 countries worldwide. SKODA AUTO today
has a range of ten models in several versions and in 2020, for the seventh consecutive year, the
year, it broke the barrier of an annual production of one million vehicles.
At the same time, the company accounts for 5% of the gross domestic product
of the Czech Republic and 9% of the country's exports. At the same time, the
role of the brand within the group has been upgraded, with the SKODA to have taken a leading role
for the Group at
important markets such as India, Russia and North Africa.
The first contacts between SKODA and
of the Volkswagen Group date back to the 1970s. Initially there was an informal cooperation
between the two companies, which concerned the production of the SKODA FAVORIT, a hatchback with front-wheel drive.
wheels that Skoda had
evolved internally, making the model a notable exception in the Eastern
Block. After the collapse of the communist regime in November 1989,
positive impressions from the cooperation in the production of SKODA FAVORIT
led to extensive talks between Wolfsburg and Mladá Boleslav and soon the
negotiations became dynamic. SKODA's aim was to work with a larger
a strategic partner, which would lead to extroversion and growth in new markets,
a unique perspective for the company's survival in the new competitive environment.
Initially, 24 companies were considered potential
partners, before the summer of 1990 talks were held with
eight, under the leadership of the then Prime Minister Petr Pithart. Four were submitted
bids while the final choice was made between the Renault/Volvo alliance and the Volkswagen Group, with the latter prevailing as
emphasized the future development of SKODA AUTO. On 28 March 1991, Jan
Vrba, Minister for Industry of the Czech Republic and Carl H. Hahn, as
Chairman of the Board of Management of Volkswagen Group, signed an agreement to establish
SKODA vehicle joint venture. The Volkswagen Group received 31% of SKODA AUTO shares
paying 620 million marks. It then gradually increased its share
of up to 100 % of shares on 30 May 2000.
In the years that followed, SKODA AUTO
developed dynamically. From 17,000 employees in 1991, today the company
employs 42,000 people and several hundred billion crowns
Czech Republic were invested in research, development and expansion of productive
brand capacity. Η SKODA
paid particular attention to education, with its own vocational school to
prepares staff for careers in the company, and founded the
"SKODA AUTO University of Applied Sciences".
The first model developed by SKODA
AUTO under the Volkswagen umbrella Group was the
first generation of the new OCTAVIA, which made its debut in September
1996, to become the brand's best-seller in the following years. It was followed by the
SKODA FABIA, in the autumn of 1999, which will soon welcome the
brand new fourth generation, the SUPERB in 2001, now also marketed as
SUPERB iV with plug-in hybrid powertrain. In September 2016, SKODA
presented the KODIAQ, marking its entry into the SUV, with the KAROQ and KAMIQ to follow and in a few
weeks the ENYAQ iV is launched in Greece, the first electric SUV of the brand.
With investments of around €2.4 billion
by 2025, most of them in electrification technologies, the SKODA is ready to face all the
challenges of the new automotive era.
