A ?kodA year in review - Skoda Auto

Expansion of production capacity at the Mladá Boleslav plantThe Mladá Boleslav plant has been set up for the start of production of the third generation of the successful ŠKODA Octaviamodel and the new compact sedan, the ŠKODA Rapid. The new class within the ŠKODA model range is positioned betweenthe existing ŠKODA Fabia model and the new ŠKODA Octavia, which are also built on site. Substantial expansion and comprehensivemodernisation is needed to allow up to 1,200 vehicles per day to be built on the Rapid and Octavia lines alone. Onceexpansion has been completed, a total capacity of up to 2,400 vehicles per day, which includes ŠKODA Fabia production at thesite, will be available at the main plant in Mladá Boleslav. The two new models, the ŠKODA Rapid and, naturally, the new ŠKODAOctavia, the brand’s top-selling model, will play a decisive role in successful implementation of the ŠKODA growth strategy,which calls for delivery of at least 1.5 million vehicles per year to customers by 2018, including many new buyers worldwide.InvestmentsShaping the Company’sfutureThe ŠKODA global growth strategy impacts many different areas.On its way to the next level, the Company is adding production and storage capacity,updating IT and logistics networks and training staff in the relevant fields.In summer 2012, during works holidaysat the main Mladá Boleslav plant, preparationsgot underway for the start of productionof the ŠKODA Rapid. Construction of anew engine testing centre was also scheduledto begin in nearby Česana in autumn. Atthe Vrchlabí plant, meanwhile, a state-ofthe-arttransmission production facility wascompleted in late 2012: At ŠKODA AUTO,clearly, all signs point to innovation andgrowth.Extraordinary goals require extraordinaryefforts: ŠKODA aims to increase globalsales to at least 1.5 million vehicles per yearby 2018 – a target that cannot be reachedwithout considerable effort. Investments inproduction, logistics, research and development,and employee training are all on theagenda.Current figures confirm the momentumbehind the growth of ŠKODA AUTO: In themore than 20 years since ŠKODA AUTO becamepart of the Volkswagen Group in 1991,a total of almost CZK 250 billion has been investedin the Czech company. In 2012 alone,the Company invested CZK 20.56 billion inproperty, plants and equipment, with focuson its European sites. ŠKODA AUTO was recentlynamed ‘Investor of the past two decades’by the Czech Ministry of Industry andTrade in partnership with the Czech InvestAgency and the Association for Foreign Investment.162012 – a Škoda year in review