Škoda Felicia Production, Škoda Felicia Factory (Mladá Boleslav, Czech Republik) 1994-2001
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Škoda Auto, more commonly known as Škoda, is a Czech automobile manufacturer founded in 1895 as Laurin & Klement. Its headquarters are in Mladá Boleslav, Czech Republic.
In 1925 Laurin & Klement was acquired by the industrial conglomerate Škoda Works, which itself became state owned in 1948. After 1991 it was gradually privatized and in 2000 Škoda became a wholly owned subsidiary of the Volkswagen Group.
Škoda automobiles are sold in over 100 countries and in 2017, total global sales reached 1.21 million units, an increase of 6.6% from the previous year, and the operating profit was €1.6 billion, an increase of 34.6% over the previous year. As of 2017, Škoda's profit margin was the second highest of all VW Group brands after Porsche.
History
The Škoda Works were established as an arms manufacturer in 1859. Škoda Auto (and its predecessors) is one of the five oldest companies producing cars and has an unbroken history alongside Daimler, Opel, Peugeot and Tatra.
Laurin & Klement
Main article: Laurin & Klement
Founders Václav Klement and Václav Laurin (1895)
Laurin & Klement Type A (1905)
The origins of what became Škoda Auto go back to the early 1890s when, like many long-established car manufacturers, a company started manufacturing bicycles.[10] Škoda (then Laurin & Klement) factories were founded in 1896 as a velocipede manufacturer.
In 1894, 26-year-old Václav Klement, who was a bookseller in Mladá Boleslav, Kingdom of Bohemia (today's Czech Republic, then part of Austria-Hungary), was unable to obtain spare parts to repair his German bicycle. Klement returned his bicycle to the manufacturers, Seidel and Naumann, with a letter, in Czech, asking them to carry out repairs, only to receive a reply, in German, stating: "If you would like an answer to your inquiry, you should try writing in a language we can understand". Not satisfied with the reply and realising the business potential, Klement, despite having no technical experience, decided to start a bicycle repair shop, which he and Václav Laurin opened in 1896 in Mladá Boleslav. Before going into partnership with Klement, Laurin was an established bicycle manufacturer in the nearby town of Turnov.
In 1898, after moving to their newly built factory, the pair bought a Werner "Motocyclette".[nb 1] Laurin & Klement's first motorcyclette, powered by an engine mounted on the handlebars driving the front wheels, proved dangerous and unreliable - an early accident on it cost Laurin a front tooth. To design a safer machine with its structure around the engine, the pair wrote to German ignition specialist Robert Bosch for advice on a different electromagnetic system.
Their new Slavia motorcycle made its debut in 1899 and the company became the first motorcycle factory in Central Europe. In 1900, with a company workforce of 32, Slavia exports began and 150 machines were shipped to London for the Hewtson firm. Shortly afterwards, the press credited them as makers of the first motorcycle.
By 1905 the firm was manufacturing automobiles, making it the second-oldest car manufacturer in the Czech lands after Tatra. The company, with an area of 7,800 m2, had a workforce of 320 and used 170 special machine-tools, power-driven by 100 hp of steam power. The first model, Voiturette A, was a success and the company was established both within Austria-Hungary and internationally
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13 авг 2018
