Škoda launches production of battery systems
Czech carmaker Škoda has reached a new strategic milestone, helping to transform the Czech Republic from a traditional automotive producer into an eMobility hub.
Škoda Auto, owned by Germany's Volkswagen, has started manufacturing battery systems for all-electric vehicles based on Volkswagen’s Modular Electrification Toolkit (MEB) in Mladá Boleslav, Czech Republic.
Read more: Volkswagen's €10bn investment in Spain
This makes the car manufacturer’s main plant the only production facility for MEB battery systems in Europe outside Germany. Around 250 employees will soon be assembling more than 250,000 MEB battery systems a year on the newly constructed production line, an investment worth €130 million. In addition to Škoda vehicles, these will also be installed in MEB models made by Volkswagen, Audi and SEAT.
“By launching the production of MEB battery systems, we are now manufacturing the absolute key component at the heart of the company," said Michael Oeljeklaus, Škoda Auto Board Member for Production and Logistics.
"This means we have achieved another goal towards our successful transition to electro-mobility. Our objective is clear: we want to produce E-components or E-vehicles at all three Czech plants by 2030."
Read more: World electric vehicle fleet to surpass 20 million in June
Christian Bleiel, Head of Component Production at Škoda Auto, added: "In collaboration with VW Group Components and our partner companies and suppliers, we are taking an important step in the transition from the combustion engine to electro-mobility by manufacturing battery systems.
"We will be reaching the next milestone at the end of 2023 when we bring the second expansion stage online, enabling us to produce more than 380,000 battery systems a year in total.”
The company’s transformation is gaining momentum on the back of the new production line. As a cornerstone of its 'Next Level - Škoda Strategy 2030', the car manufacturer plans to produce e-vehicles or e-components at all three production sites by the end of this decade.
Read more: Vattenfall to trial wireless EV charging in Sweden
The carmaker says it is confident that its parent will take a decision on its fourth large battery factory in Europe by 2023 at the latest, and decide in favour of the Czech Republic. Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and the Czech Republic are all in the running for the eastern European battery factory, to be opened in 2027.
Back to Homepage
Back to Transportation