A ?kodA year in review - Skoda Auto

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History of ŠKODA AUTOThe fascinationof traditionCompany forefathers VáclavLaurin (centre left) and VáclavKlement (far left) laid the foundationfor the first 117 years ofeventful automotive history atŠKODA. The completely renovatedMuseum in Mladá Boleslavuses a wide range of exhibitsto tell its moving story in detail.The Museum’s large windowfronts also provide an interestingglimpse from outside.The so-called ‘type case’ (right)brings the rich ŠKODA modelhistory to life.‘skeleton’. The ‘metamorphosis’ continues ona third lifting platform, which presents thefirst step in the restoration of a partially rebuiltŠKODA 430 Convertible from 1932. And,finally, the ‘gem’ of the collection, an elegantdark-blue ŠKODA 645 Faux Convertible from1930, which experts have already fully rebuiltin a total of 3,800 hours of work between1998 and 2001.Rich history with a happy futureThe history of ŠKODA AUTO has alwaysbeen inextricably linked to its two, verydifferent, company founders, Václav Laurinand Václav Klement: the engineer Laurin,hardworking and a little reserved, and Klement,the worldly-wise marketing expert,originally a bookseller, who joined forcesto set up a bicycle factory in Mladá Boleslav.Why and how the Company was bornis also explained in detail at the Museum.The story of ŠKODA AUTO begins in late1895, as the two embarked on their adventuretogether with just two workers andan apprentice in a tiny 120 m 2 workshop.The Company expanded quickly, switchedto production of motorcycles, and, thanksto the inventiveness and entrepreneurialcourage of its two founders, soon becamea highly-respected automobile company,initially under the name ‘Laurin und Klement’,or L&K for short.The merger with the Plzeň-based mechanicalengineering company, ŠKODA, in 1925,provided the Company with urgently-neededcapital and secured its future. For awhile, vehicles sported both brand logos.Crucial investment to expand standardisedassembly-line production transformed thefounder-driven, small-series carmaker into afinancially-powerful volume manufacturer –which it remained, right up until World WarII. Then, like many automobile manufacturersin other countries, ŠKODA also had to switchfrom civil automobile production to wartimeproduction.As ŠKODA braved a difficult post-war periodand the political bureaucracy of the plannedeconomy, its creative engineers continuedto set innovative trends in vehicle developmentuntil the mid-1960s. However, bythis time, ŠKODA was increasingly sufferingunder a centrally-directed model policy, lackof capital, and ultimately under the failingcompetitiveness of its cars abroad, until, afterthe Velvet Revolution, Volkswagen Groupacquired ŠKODA in 1991, heralding a new erafor the Company.ŠKODA reveals its treasuresThe brand’s strong sense of tradition isnot only on display in the newly-openedMuseum, but also at the many renownedvintage-car events, where ŠKODA proudly46 2012 – A Škoda year in review
shows off its treasures, often to the amazementof spectators. In countries on theother side of the former Iron Curtain, particularlyGermany, Austria, Switzerland andFrance, years of political division in Europemade it hard for car enthusiasts to follow vehicledevelopment at ŠKODA. Now, they are oftenastonished to discover attractive ŠKODAautomobiles they knew nothing about.ŠKODA attended 34 classic car meets andvintage-car rallies in different countries in2012 alone. Motorsports has been part ofthe ŠKODA brand identity ever since daredevilNarcis Podsedniček raced his L&Kmotorcycle from Paris to Berlin in 1901, andso the ŠKODA collection includes many attractivehistoric race cars and bikes, as wellas sedans and coupés – which need to bemaintained and driven from time to time.By participating in vintage-car rallies today,ŠKODA recalls the names of its many famousfactory drivers, such as Václav Vondřich, OttoHieronimus, Jaroslav Bobek, Václav Bobek,Václav Blahna and John Haugland, and remarkablecars like the ŠKODA Supersport,the ŠKODA 1100 MB, the ŠKODA 130 RS andthe ŠKODA F3.In 2012, for example, a 1932 ŠKODA 860 anda ŠKODA Popular Monte Carlo from 1937 competedin the famous Schloss Bensberg Classics.Also, at the ‘Hamburg-Berlin-Klassik’ carrally, one of the ŠKODA entries among thestarting line-up of 180 vintage cars was a2012 – A Škoda year in review47
Page 1 and 2: 2012A škoda year in review
Page 3 and 4: Contents2012 - A Škoda year in rev
Page 5 and 6: ‘Simply Clever’ also applies to
Page 7 and 8: We continue to invest in new produc
Page 9 and 10: For ŠKODA, the third generation of
Page 11 and 12: Reinterpretation of a modern classi
Page 14 and 15: 14 2012 - A Škoda year in review
Page 16 and 17: Expansion of production capacity at
Page 18 and 19: Opening of new ‘Lean Centre’ in
Page 20 and 21: Expansion and modernisation of part
Page 22 and 23: SustainabilityFor a greener futureS
Page 24 and 25: SustainabilityProduct responsibilit
Page 26 and 27: 26 2012 - A Škoda year in review
Page 28 and 29: Modern, minimalist design with lots
Page 30 and 31: InternationalisationBreaking downbo
Page 32 and 33: Internationalisation2011 - 2012+ 14
Page 34 and 35: InterviewŠKODA Board of Management
Page 36 and 37: Highlights 20120102 03March 2 More
Page 38 and 39: Highlights 20120708 09July 5 A succ
Page 40 and 41: InterviewŠKODA Board of Management
Page 42 and 43: History of ŠKODA AUTORestoring for
Page 44 and 45: History of ŠKODA AUTOThe fascinati
Page 48 and 49: The fascinationof traditionŠKODA a
Page 50 and 51: At home on rallycourses around thew
Page 52 and 53: MotorsportsNight shift: Duringnight
Page 54 and 55: ŠKODA model seriesProduct portfoli
Page 56: ŠKODA Media Services- the app fori

A ?kodA year in review - Skoda Auto

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