Škoda Auto produces millionth car this year

Mlada Boleslav-based carmaker Skoda Auto has, for the first time in the company’s history, produced a million cars in one year. In a press release the German-owned manufacturer said the millionth vehicle was a white Škoda Fabia.

Photo: CTK

Škoda Auto has a 119-year-long history: on Wednesday, though, it made history by rolling off the assembly line its millionth car in a single year, with roughly three weeks left until the end of the month. The carmaker’s CEO Winfried Vahland called it a “magic number”, a milestone. Since 1991, the company has undergone a remarkable transformation, producing highly-respected and valued vehicles; then it produced Favorits; today, the company offers a wide range of cars: seven lines with 40 variants or variations, from the affordable Fabia to the high-end sedan, the Superb.

Demand and supply increased massively and the company is on firm ground: in 2014, revenues have grown by almost 20 percent to 8.8 billion euros. And the firm is pushing to still boost production to 1.5 million cars annually, the next big step. It hopes to achieve that goal by 2018.

In terms of markets, since 2010 the strongest has been China. In the first 11 months of this year, for example, the Chinese market contributed to roughly a quarter of all sales. Six models are produced there. Other countries where the carmaker owns and operates plants are in Russia, India, Kazakhstan, Ukraine and also a little closer to home: Slovakia.