ŠKODA AUTO CEO Bernhard Maier emphasises: “ŠKODA’s future is electric. By the end of 2022, we will have launched more than ten electrified models. We are starting in 2019 with the SUPERB with plug-in hybrid drive and the all-electric CITIGO. At the same time, ŠKODA is also investing in infrastructure: in the coming years, we will be establishing up to 7,000 charging points on the factory premises and in employee parking spaces.”
Michael Oeljeklaus, ŠKODA AUTO Board Member for Production and Logistics, adds: “Preparations throughout production are in full swing. We have already trained over 11,000 employees in the field of e-mobility. We are also investing in the infrastructure of our plants and their surroundings.”
The Technical Development, Quality Assurance, Sales and Production departments are already testing the charging infrastructure at the ŠKODA plant in Mladá Boleslav. The manufacturer invested a total of around 3.4 million euros in expanding the charging infrastructure at the plant last year: 1.65 million euros went into modernising and expanding the power grid. ŠKODA AUTO spent a further 1.75 million euros on installing more than 300 charging points, including more than 220 alternating current (AC) and more than 80 modern direct current (DC) charging stations.
ŠKODA AUTO plans to increase the number of charging locations to almost 7,000 by 2025 and invest around 32 million euros in this area. In addition to the more than 3,600 charging points at the plants, another 3,100 charging stations will be installed in their surroundings and made available to all ŠKODA employees.
In partnership with energy company ŠKO-ENERGO – ŠKODA AUTO’s energy provider of over 20 years – and the local authority, the manufacturer intends to turn Mladá Boleslav into a Smart City.
First ŠKODA models with electric drivetrain will arrive in 2019
This year ŠKODA AUTO is launching the first models with electric drive. The first model to be released will be the all-electric version of the ŠKODA CITIGO, followed by the ŠKODA SUPERB with plug-in hybrid drive. In 2020, the production version of the ŠKODA VISION iV study recently presented at the Geneva Motor Show will be launched. Over the next four years, ŠKODA AUTO will be investing two billion euros in the development of electric vehicles and new mobility services as part of Strategy 2025, making it the most comprehensive investment programme in ŠKODA AUTO’s history.
