First ŠKODA ENYAQ iV manufactured in Czech Republic presented to National Technical Museum

ŠKODA AUTO has presented the first ENYAQ iV produced at its main plant in Mladá Boleslav to the National Technical Museum.

The pre-production all-electric SUV now stands alongside numerous other milestones from the Czech manufacturer’s history, including the VOITURETTE B from 1906. This vehicle was donated to the museum 86 years ago by Václav Klement, one of the founding fathers of Laurin & Klement.

Michael Oeljeklaus, ŠKODA AUTO Board Member for Production and Logistics explains, “The ENYAQ iV sets ŠKODA’s course for the future as our first 100% battery-electric MEB-based series model. We are now making decisive progress; over the coming years, we will be developing the Czech Republic as an electromobility hub and manufacturing e-components or e-vehicles at all three of our Czech sites by 2030. This makes the ENYAQ iV a gamechanger for the Czech Republic as an automotive location and one of the most important models in ŠKODA AUTO’s 126-year history. The first model ever produced at our headquarters in Mladá Boleslav thus rounds off the collection of ŠKODA vehicles at the National Technical Museum in Prague perfectly.”

Karel Ksandr, General Director of the National Technical Museum in Prague explains, “In 1935, when the then Technical Museum of Czechoslovakia was still located in Schwarzenberg Palace at Hradčany, the collection of road vehicles was established thanks to a generous donation from Václav Klement. At that time, the co-founder of the company from Mladá Boleslav also served as General Councillor of the car manufacturer ŠKODA.

From his former customers, he bought back a Laurin & Klement VOITURETTE B from 1906, the first three motorbikes in our collection, as well as extremely valuable archival records and other items. He had them restored to make them suitable for exhibiting and donated them to the museum. He also played a major role in constructing the museum building in Letná. The National Technical Museum recognises the historical significance of the new exhibit, the first ever ŠKODA ENYAQ iV to be produced.

The vehicle has been on display in our exhibition since the summer and complements the classic models from Mladá Boleslav. This is a fantastic testament to the long-standing cooperation between the National Technical Museum and ŠKODA AUTO.”

ŠKODA AUTO launched the series production of vehicles with electric powertrains in November 2019. Since then, the carmaker has been manufacturing the SUPERB iV with plug-in hybrid drive at the Kvasiny site, and the first units of the all-electric CITIGO^e iV rolled off the production line in Bratislava at the same time. ŠKODA AUTO took the biggest step in implementing its electromobility strategy to date with the launch of the ŠKODA ENYAQ iV.

Production of the first 100% battery-electric ŠKODA series model based on the Volkswagen Group’s Modular Electrification Toolkit (MEB) started on 25 November 2020 at its main plant in Mladá Boleslav. By 30 August 2021, the car manufacturer had produced its 100,000^th iV vehicle in Mladá Boleslav. This abbreviation identifies ŠKODA vehicles with a part-electric or fully electric powertrain.

In the Czech Republic, ŠKODA AUTO not only manufactures electric vehicles but also high-voltage traction batteries for the plug-in hybrid models SUPERB iV and OCTAVIA iV as well as for models of other Group brands. At the beginning of next year, production of MEB battery systems for the ENYAQ iV will also begin at this site. As part of its NEXT LEVEL – ŠKODA STRATEGY 2030, ŠKODA plans to release at least three more all-electric models by 2030, which will be positioned below the ENYAQ iV in terms of price and size.

In addition, the company aims to be one of the five best-selling car brands in Europe by that time. Depending on market developments, the carmaker expects to increase the share of all-electric vehicles to between 50 and 70 per cent of its model range in Europe. This will contribute to reducing the fleet CO₂ emissions by more than 50 per cent by 2030.

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