Production stabilization
The demand for new (and used) cars significantly exceeds their supply on the market. The usual smooth flow of cars from production lines to consumer garages has been disrupted by numerous shortcomings in many parts, mainly chips. The current head of the Škoda, Thomas Schäfer, stated in an November interview for the E15 dailythat in the second half of 2022 it no longer expects any production restrictions that could return to “normal volume”.
In order for the carmaker to succeed, it will need a sufficient allocation of chips from the parent company Volkswagen, which it is arguing with many others. Investing in your own chip factory is out of the question, it would be too expensive and would take several years. “In addition, there is also a global shortage of chip machines, which is not the way to go,” Schäfer described. The damage will have to ensure, among other things, enough indispensable magnesium.
New boss
German manager Schäfer will be thinking about where the best or least painful road for Škoda leads by the end of June next year at the latest. From July, he will take over the leadership of the main Volkswagen brand. The concern has not yet stated who will replace it in Škoda. The last Czech to run the company was Vratislav Kulhánek, from 1997 to 2004.
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Martin Jahn is the only Czech who currently sits on the car’s board of directors. He did not want to answer the question of the daily E15 whether he has signals that he could possibly replace Schäfer. The main task of the new Škoda pilot will be to stabilize the company and manage the onset of electromobility.
Getting a gigafactory
The Volkswagen Group is investing up to 30 billion euros in six new electric battery factories and in securing the necessary raw materials. The group will decide in the first half of next year whether one of the factories, which is often nicknamed the gigafactory following the example of the American Tesla Elon Musk, will be established in the first half of next year..
“The Czech Republic urgently needs gigafactory to succeed in international competition and produce electric cars in the future,” says Schäfer. Therefore, Škoda is striving for a factory on domestic soil with the help of the Czech government in the back. However, it faces competitive investment incentives from Poland, Slovakia and Hungary. The Czechia may benefit from its geographical location – proximity to Germany – or the lithium deposit in Cínovec.
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Internal combustion engines vs. onset of electromobility
Like many European competitors, Škoda will have to fight – invest dearly – on two fronts at the same time next year. Firstly, in the field of traditional cars with internal combustion engines, on the sales of which the carmaker is to rely for a long time, among other places on African or East Asian markets, but at the same time it must invest heavily in the development and production of electric cars. To the segment in which European carmakers face increasingly advanced competition from China and the extremely strong Tesla. The extent to which Škoda will be able to compete will be announced next year.
“The transition to a green agreement and carbon-neutral production is also taking place in all supplier companies. It is not certain that the same number of jobs will be secured as before, “warned Zdeněk Petzl, Executive Director of the Association of the Automotive Industry. While some plants will have to reduce the number of employees, others will create new jobs.
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Foreign expansion
While in the key Chinese market, Škoda experienced an unpleasantly sharp drop in sales (as did the entire VW Group), by entering new markets, it could compensate for the shortfall – albeit only to a very limited extent -. For several years now, voices have been heard from Mladá Boleslav, especially about Vietnam, where the Škoda delegation went to “map the terrain” in mid-November..
The Vietnamese market, with a population of 98 million, is one of the fastest growing in Southeast Asia. Marcel Winter, the honorary chairman of the Czech-Vietnamese company, said, for example, that Škoda plans to start importing the latest models manufactured in Europe to Vietnam as early as next year. The construction of a production plant in the northern province of Quanq Ninh is also planned. The first cars could roll off the production line in Quang Ninh province at the end of 2023.
Take a look at the production of new cars and parking areas full of unfinished cars:
Škoda Auto only wants to sell electric cars! What changes are planned?
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Škoda Auto only wants to sell electric cars! What changes are planned? • VIDEO Videohub
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