Škoda Auto a.s. (Czech pronunciation: [ˈʃkoda] (About this soundlisten)), often shortened to Škoda, is a Czech automobile manufacturer founded in 1895 as Laurin & Klement and headquartered 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 to the German Volkswagen Group, becoming a subsidiary in 1994 and a wholly-owned subsidiary in 2000.
Škoda automobiles are sold in over 100 countries and in 2018, total global sales reached 1.25 million units, an increase of 4.4% from the previous year. The operating profit was €1.6 billion in 2017, an increase of 34.6% over the previous year. As of 2017, Škoda's profit margin was the second highest of all Volkswagen AG brands after Porsche.
In 2015, new Škoda chairman Bernhard Maier stated that the Volkswagen Group "is working on a modular, new electric platform and we are in the team", and that "there is no alternative to electrification." New Škoda corporate "Strategy 2025", which replaces the previous "Strategy 2018", aims to start production of a fully electric vehicle in 2020, and five electric models across different segments by 2025.
The all-electric car Škoda Enyaq iV is available for sale since September 2020. In 2017 Auto Shanghai, Škoda displayed its Vision E concept for an all-electric 300bhp coupé-SUV, with level 3 autonomy capability and 500 kilometres (310 mi) range. It is based on the VW MEB platform and Škoda Auto will also manufacture electric-vehicle batteries for the Volkswagen Group in its facility in the Czech Republic. The second development stage, the Škoda Vision iV was revealed in March 2019.
A plug-in hybrid car, Škoda Superb iV is available for sale from early 2020[48] and a small SUV model Škoda Kamiq with a natural gas-electric hybrid powertrain and a hybrid Fabia from later the same year. By March 2018, the electrification plan was expanded to ten electrified models for 2025: six fully electric cars and four plugin-hybrids. Out of these, five models are to be available by 2020. In 2018, the brand launched its largest-ever investment plan of €2 billion over five years into its electrification.
The brand's first fully electric car, a city car Škoda Citigo e iV, is sold from early 2020.
In this gallery you can download free PNG images: Skoda cars PNG images, free PNG images download
In this gallery "Skoda" we have 56 free PNG images with transparent background.
