ŠKODA AUTO produced more than 800,000 vehicles worldwide in 2021

• ŠKODA AUTO’s global production in 2021 impacted by COVID-19 pandemic and semiconductor shortage
• Car manufacturer continues to invest heavily in its international production sites and is systematically focusing on Industry 4.0
• 20 million vehicles produced since merging with the Volkswagen Group
• NEXT LEVEL – ŠKODA STRATEGY 2030 sets out specific goals in the areas of internationalisation, electrification and digitalisation

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic and the semiconductor shortage posing major challenges for ŠKODA AUTO in 2021, the Czech carmaker produced more than 800,000 vehicles at its global production sites. Around 440,000 vehicles rolled off the production line at the company’s main plant in Mladá Boleslav. In addition to the OCTAVIA (172,000 units), the SUV models KAMIQ (111,000) and KAROQ (109,000) were the most frequently produced model series.

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In addition, ŠKODA AUTO manufactured components such as engines, axles, bodies, transmissions and high-voltage traction batteries that are also installed in the vehicles of other Group brands.

“We have produced more than 800,000 ŠKODA vehicles in our plants worldwide under extremely difficult conditions. I’d like to thank the entire team for their great commitment. Together, we have managed to handle the situation in a Simply Clever way. We expect the supply of semiconductors to gradually improve from the second half of the year onwards. I’m therefore cautiously optimistic about the future. Our team is highly motivated to produce as many cars as possible for our customers this year.” – Michael Oeljeklaus, ŠKODA AUTO Board Member for Production and Logistics

In Mladá Boleslav, around 440,000 vehicles from the FABIA, SCALA, OCTAVIA, OCTAVIA iV, KAMIQ and ENYAQ iV series rolled off the production line. For the production launch of the new-generation FABIA in July 2021, the carmaker made extensive modifications to the production lines and invested a total of 110 million euros in the necessary adaptations. ŠKODA AUTO also produced 128,000 high-voltage traction batteries, 419,000 MQ100 and MQ200 manual transmissions and 1,405,000 axles at the company’s headquarters.

The new central pilot hall in Mladá Boleslav also went into operation in January 2021. Covering an area of 12,000 square metres, the new building houses an area for body construction as well as a measurement centre and a virtual reality studio. This is where the company conducts comprehensive analyses during the development phase of new models, manufactures pre-series vehicles and prepares for production start-ups. The investment in the new building totals over 20 million euros.

At the Kvasiny site, ŠKODA AUTO produced a total of 185,000 units of the SUPERB and SUPERB iV model series as well as the KODIAQ and KAROQ last year. Following a comprehensive update, the two successful SUV model series feature a more distinctive design language and also offer more efficient engines and new assistance systems, among other things.

In Vrchlabí, ŠKODA AUTO produced 423,000 units of the DQ200 automatic direct-shift gearbox, which are installed not only in the Czech carmaker’s models but also in vehicles from other Group brands. In addition to comprehensively digitalising its work processes, the manufacturer also relies on Industry 4.0 technologies in Vrchlabí. Since the end of 2020, the plant has been the company’s first location worldwide to produce with net zero CO₂ emissions.

ŠKODA AUTO produced more than 87,000 vehicles at its two Russian plants. The OCTAVIA, KAROQ and KODIAQ model series rolled off the production line in Nizhny Novgorod and the RAPID saloon exclusively designed for Russian market in Kaluga. Around 96,000 engines were also produced at this plant in 2021.

ŠKODA AUTO built more than 54,000 vehicles at the Chinese plants in Changsha (KODIAQ and KODIAQ GT), Nanjing (KAMIQ, KAMIQ GT and SUPERB), Ningbo (OCTAVIA and KAROQ) and Yizheng (RAPID) in 2021.

In India, the company produced over 26,000 ŠKODA vehicles. For the Indian market, the OCTAVIA, KODIAQ and SUPERB model series are produced at the Aurangabad site and the RAPID and the new KUSHAQ at the Pune plant. The SUV is ŠKODA’s first production model under the INDIA 2.0 project. The ŠKODA SLAVIA – the second model based on the MQB-A0-IN platform developed exclusively for the Indian market – has also been produced in Pune since 21 January 2022.

The new mid-size saloon is built with up to 95 per cent of all components and materials being sourced locally, which has a positive effect on the cost structure and allows ŠKODA to respond quickly and flexibly to the requirements and needs of its customers in India. In the medium term, the models manufactured in India will also be exported to other countries. In addition to cars, the manufacturer produced over 37,000 engines at its Indian plants last year. These are also installed in Volkswagen and Audi vehicles for the local market.

At its site in the Slovakian capital of Bratislava, the carmaker produced 9,500 units of the KAROQ and 3,000 units of the CITIGO^e iV last year.

The Czech car manufacturer has produced 20 million vehicles in the roughly 30 years since merging with the Volkswagen Group in 1991.

As part of its NEXT LEVEL – ŠKODA STRATEGY 2030, the company is focusing on opening up new markets with growth potential under the priority ‘EXPLORE’. ŠKODA plans to become the leading European car manufacturer in India, Russia and North Africa by 2030.

With its NEXT LEVEL – ŠKODA STRATEGY 2030, the car manufacturer has again tightened its ambitious sustainability goals that are defined within the framework of the ‘Green Future’ strategy. This is based on the three pillars of ‘Green Retail’, ‘Green Product’ and ‘Green Factory’, which combine all the measures that contribute to the most environmentally friendly production possible. ŠKODA AUTO is one of the first Czech companies to be advised by an independent sustainability advisory board on the implementation of its sustainability strategy. The five internationally experienced members of the committee offer new impetus and suggestions for current and future measures relating to sustainability.

ŠKODA AUTO production in 2021