Škoda Auto CEO: Company would have reached record production numbers if not for chip shortage

With the number of orders already exceeding production capacity, car manufacturer Škoda Auto would have reached record results this year had it not been affected by the global chip shortage, company CEO Thomas Schäfer said at an internal management meeting on Tuesday afternoon.

The past three months saw Škoda’s position within the Volkswagen Group improve further, according to Schäfer, and, in order to ensure future success on the European market, the company plans to develop at least three more fully electric models below the size of the Enyaq iV SUV.

The company is preparing to bring new models onto the market, with an upgraded Karoq, Enyaq Coupé iV, Enyaq RS iV and Fabia Monte Carlo model set to launch soon.

Regarding the coronavirus pandemic, Mr Schäfer said that around 70 percent of Škoda’s employees have thus far been vaccinated, a number which he says is still too low. He said that the company should do more to propagate free vaccination of its workers.