“This is the first time that only a purely electric car has been produced on the assembly line at Škoda Auto,” the trade unionists write in Thursday’s issue of the company weekly Škodovácký odborář. Behind the sentence that gives the impression of success, there is in fact a statement of the deep crisis in which the Czech carmaker finds itself.
Like other global car manufacturers, Škoda is struggling with a lack of chips. Demand for them currently far exceeds supply worldwide, and the production of chips has been complicated by winter snowstorms in Texas, where large manufacturers have had to stop or reduce production. That is why, for example, Toyota in Cologne stopped production completely for a fortnight in March.
Take a look at the production of Skoda Enyaq
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• VIDEO Skoda car
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This week is the most critical for the domestic carmaker so far. Škoda, which employs about 34,000 people in the Czech Republic, cancels a large number of shifts in its plants and currently leaves a large number of employees at home in obstacles and pays them 85 percent of their wages. Production has almost stopped in Kvasiny, where the carmaker produces Karoq and Kodiaq SUV models.
The manufacturer also had to temporarily stop production of its most important model, the Octavia, which it is assembling on the M13 line in Mladá Boleslav. It now only produces the Enyaq electric car on site, for which the company has enough components.
“The situation will also be challenging next week, ie in the 27th calendar week, when production will stop for two public holidays on July 5 and 6, and at the same time the cancellation of shifts will continue for the rest of the week,” the unions write.
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The daily informed that Škoda Auto is facing a critical period E15 last week. “In recent months, we have managed to minimize the impact on production at plants in the Czech Republic, only a few shifts had to be canceled. At present, however, we assume that the availability of chips will be limited to one to two weeks to such an extent that integrated production will no longer be possible, “commented Škoda Auto spokeswoman Martina Gillichová.
Due to the lack of chips, the carmaker cannot complete up to five thousand cars a week. She had about 33,000 incomplete cars on parking lots last week, he said in an interview pro server iHNED.cz head of production and logistics of Škoda Auto Michael Oeljeklaus.
Last year, Škoda Auto delivered over one million cars worldwide. It operates three production plants in the Czech Republic, produces in China, Russia, Slovakia and India, mostly through group partnerships. It produces in Ukraine and Kazakhstan in cooperation with local partners. It is active in more than a hundred markets.
Škoda makes production more efficient with the help of robots
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• VIDEO Škoda Auto
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