Brief history of the Czech company Skoda
Škoda Auto — Czech automobile manufacturer founded in December 1895 under the name «Laurin & Klement». It currently produces over 1.2 million vehicles per year. The headquarters and main plant is located in the Czech city of Mlada Boleslav. In 2000, «Skoda» became a subsidiary of «Volkswagen Group».
«Skoda Works» was founded in 1859 as a manufacturer of weapons - artillery, mortars, machine guns. In addition to producing armaments for the Austro-Hungarian military, the company also produced locomotives, aircraft, ships, machine tools and steam turbines, becoming one of the largest industrial conglomerates in Europe.
The founders of the company «Laurin & Klement» Vaclav Laurin and Vaclav Klement started their activity with the production of bicycles. In 1894, Vaclav Klement could not find spare parts to repair his German bicycle and decided to open a bicycle repair shop. Teaming up with Vaclav Laurin in 1896, they opened this workshop in Mladá Boleslav. Prior to this, Laurin was a recognized bicycle manufacturer in the nearby town of Turnov. In 1896, they purchased two French «Werner Motocyclette» motorbikes with a handlebar-mounted engine. The design turned out to be unsuccessful and they began to produce their motorbikes from 1899 under the name «Slavia» with a classic engine arrangement. In 1900, the company already employed 32 people. Since 1905, the production of cars began, the first of which was called «Laurint & Klement A».
After the First World War, the company began producing trucks, but faced with problems and fires in its premises in 1924, it began to look for a new partner. In 1925, «Laurin & Klement» was acquired by the industrial company «Skoda Works».
In 1930, the production of automobiles was officially spun off into the new company «Akciová společnost pro automobilový průmysl» (Joint Stock Company of the Automotive Industry) or «ASAP» for short, which remained a subsidiary of «Skoda Works» and sold cars under the «Skoda» brand. At that time, the automobile plant in Mladá Boleslav covered an area of 215,000 square meters and employed more than 4,000 employees.
During the occupation of Czechoslovakia during World War II, «Skoda Works» began to serve the German war effort, producing components for military off-road vehicles, military aircraft, weapons and cartridge cases. The production of automobiles decreased by more than 10 times, and there were almost no cars produced. After a massive bombardment in April 1945, the plant was almost completely destroyed.
By July 1945, the plant in Mladá Boleslav was reconstructed, renamed the national enterprise (AZNP) and the production of the first post-war passenger car «Skoda 1101» began. Until the 1960s, the company successfully developed, but after that it began to lag behind technologically from Western competitors. In the 1970s, stagnation set in, and the company was given a further impetus by the release of a front-wheel drive subcompact car «Skoda Favorit».
In 1991, the government sold a third of «Skoda» to the German concern «Volkswagen AG», in January 1998 the name «Skoda Auto» appeared, and in May 2000 the company became wholly owned by «Volkswagen AG», which also owns «Audi» and «SEAT».
Repair of Czech cars Skoda
Thanks to the long and successful history of «Skoda», its cars were competitive and distinguished by good reliability. After the merger with «Volkswagen AG» and the introduction of German technology and quality control into Skoda cars, today these cars are considered world-class in terms of reliability, convenience and safety. But any equipment needs maintenance and repair.
The current maintenance of «Skoda» cars is carried out in the official car services of the «Volkswagen» company, and due to their prevalence in our country, you can easily find the one closest to you. But still, these service stations are not in all cities. We recommend that you service a new car only at the official «Volkswagen» service, otherwise you will lose the warranty repair. After the end of the warranty period or mileage, you can continue the maintenance of «Skoda» in an authorized service. It is safe, guaranteed, but quite expensive, especially if major repairs are required. You can repair your «Skoda» car in universal car services, at private auto repair shops or on your own. If you decide to carry out maintenance and repair of a «Skoda» car on your own, you will need: tools, a place with a pit (garage), as well as an instruction or manual. We hope that on our website you will find the guide you need to repair your «Skoda».