ŠKODA has produced the 11 millionth car at Mladá Boleslav, the main company plant.

› ŠKODA main factory is the heart of the global ŠKODA production network 
› The root and origin of a 118-year corporate history 

› Cornerstone of the ŠKODA growth strategy; extensive investments

ŠKODA AUTO has produced eleven million vehicles at its main factory in Mladá Boleslav. Six ŠKODA models are currently produced in Mladá Boleslav: the Octavia, Octavia Combi, Fabia, Fabia Combi, Rapid and Rapid Spaceback. As part of the most comprehensive product campaign in its corporate history, the carmaker has extensively modernized and expanded the production facilities over the past three years.

​“Mladá Boleslav is the heart of the global ŠKODA production network,” says Michael Oeljeklaus, ŠKODA Board member for Production. “This, the eleven million vehicles produced, demonstrates the strength and importance of both the plant and the company. More than 50 percent of all ŠKODA cars built to date have left the production lines in Mladá Boleslav, of which one million were produced in the last two years alone. ŠKODA’s heart beats in this town and at this factory. The whole team is very proud of the eleven millionth milestone. In the years ahead, ŠKODA will continue to grow with the most comprehensive model campaign in the company’s history and our main factory is going to play a key role.”

The Mladá Boleslav plant is the mainstay of production in the model campaign that the Czech manufacturer launched around three years ago. Almost 10,000 employees work on producing the current ŠKODA Fabia, the new ŠKODA Octavia, as well as the new ŠKODA Rapid and the new ŠKODA Rapid Spaceback. To accommodate the production of the new models, ŠKODA launched one of the most extensive modernization and expansion projects in the history of the plant. The focus was to increase the production capacity of production line I from 800 to 1,200 vehicles every day. Among other things, a new body shop and a fully-automated paint shop for body interiors were installed. In addition ŠKODA built a new, environmentally friendly press line.

The investments are paying off: the new models made in Mladá Boleslav are selling very well. Growing by more than 30 percent in West & Central Europe, the new ŠKODA Octavia has been a massive hit in the first two months of 2014. The new ŠKODA Octavia is available as Octavia, Octavia Combi, Octavia Combi 4x4 and the powerful Octavia RS version. The new Octavia Scout and the new CNG-driven Octavia G-TEC are soon to follow in 2014. It has not even been two years since the market launch of the new ŠKODA Rapid, and it has already become the brand’s third-strongest model. In 2013, ŠKODA was able to more than quadruple deliveries of the Rapid over the previous year. The ŠKODA Rapid Spaceback has been the brand’s first compact hatchback since mid-2013.

The Mladá Boleslav plant on Václav Klement Road is the ŠKODA plant par excellence and is regarded as the heart of the company’s 118-year success story. In close proximity to the current production halls, the two vehicle pioneers, Václav Laurin and Václav Klement launched the construction of bicycles in 1895, then motorcycles, and from 1905, they began constructing automobiles.

Besides the main plant in the Czech Republic, ŠKODA has two other production sites; Kvasiny and Vrchlabí. The Yeti, Superb and Roomster run off the production lines at Kvasiny and the Vrchlabí plant currently produces the DQ200 double-clutch gearbox for the Volkswagen Group. The Czech manufacturer and Volkswagen Group invested around €170 million into producing the DSG.

In addition to domestic production, ŠKODA, as part of the international growth strategy, is focusing on increasing local capacities in key global growth markets, particularly of China and Russia. In China there have been built to date at the locations of Anting, Yizheng and Ningbo more than one million ŠKODA vehicles for the Chinese market. The production of the new Octavia for the Chinese market has been set for mid-2014. ŠKODA models are also produced at the Russian production sites of Nizhny Novgorod and Kaluga. The assembly of the ŠKODA Rapid for the Russian market began in Kaluga just a few weeks ago.

As part of the company’s growth strategy launched three years ago, ŠKODA plans to increase deliveries worldwide over the next few years to at least 1.5 million vehicles per year. In 2013 ŠKODA delivered 920,800 vehicles to customers worldwide, making it the second-best sales year in the company's history. By introducing eight new or revised models, the brand launched more new models in one year than ever before. ŠKODA will continue on this path to growth in 2014. By the end of February, sales were up 10.6 percent over the same period in 2013.

Various milestones in ŠKODA AUTO’s production:

- 19 March 2014: 11 millionth ŠKODA vehicle at the Mladá Boleslav plant
- 26 August 2013: 4 millionth ŠKODA Octavia
- 9 July 2013: 1 millionth ŠKODA vehicle in China since 2007
- 5 February 2013: 15 millionth ŠKODA vehicle since 1905
- 30 January 2012: 14 millionth ŠKODA vehicle since 1905
- 12 October 2011: 10 millionth ŠKODA vehicle at the Mladá Boleslav plant
- 8 April 2009: 12 millionth ŠKODA vehicle since 1905
- 13 July 2006: 10 millionth ŠKODA vehicle since 1905
- 1991: 5 millionth ŠKODA vehicle since 1905