Skoda
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Skoda
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| Introduction | Skoda is one of the four brands
under Volkswagen group. Its cars are based on VW s platforms and are mostly
developed in Germany. Under VW `s strategy, there will be just 4 platforms
for the whole group, among which only the 2 smallest platforms are currently
used by Skoda (Fabia and Octavia). Benefited by the lower labour cost, its
cars are usually seen as cut-price Volkswagen, with leaner trim and options
of course but the build quality nearly matches the German brand. This help
Skoda establishing a reputation of good value for money. However, VW said
it want Skoda to compete with Volvo instead of Ford / Opel etc. in the future.
Without more individuality, I m afraid that could be hardly achieved.
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| Sales figure | Production in 1998: 404,000 cars (Felicia and Octavia), increased by 13% from 1997. |
| Location | Mlada Bvoleslav, Czech. |
| Brief History | It could be surprising to hear
that Skoda is one of the oldest car makers. It was established in the late
19 Century by Vaclav Laurin and Vaclav Klement as a bicycle and motorcycle
maker. The first car was produced in 1905 and became a best seller in Czech,
carrying the brand name L & K which was named after the founders. The
merger with Skoda company in 1925 changed the name to Skoda.
After WWII, Czech fell into the administration of the Communist Party, so Skoda was nationalised. As the planned economy assigned it as the sole volume car maker in the country, Skoda enjoyed 40 years of monopoly the domestic market. Also because of lack of competition, technology had been leaving behind the Western. Since the collapse of the Berlin wall, Skoda was privatised and eventually sold to Volkswagen group in 1991. The German giant revised the existing Felica, then built a new plant for assembling the Octavia, which is the first new car developed in the VW-era. |
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Octavia - the re-packaged VW Golf