Czech Republic – Skoda has introduced a second line for its new Karoq compact SUV, supplementing the original production operations at Kvasiny.
Reacting to high demand for the model, the company has invested around €16.6m ($20.3m) in the new Karoq production line at its main plant Mladá Boleslav, 60km north of Prague. Operations at Mladá Boleslav also include the Fabia, Rapid and Octavia models, however, the Karoq becomes the only model produced at two Czech sites.
Almost 547,000 Skoda vehicles rolled off the lines at the Kvasiny factory last year. Production of the new compact SUV began there at the end of July 2017 and the OEM's 2025 Strategy sees it pressing ahead to expand the range, particularly its SUV portfolio, over the next few years. The strategy also seeks to progress electrification of Skoda’s models and offer five pure electric vehicles in various segments by 2025.
Skoda currently manufactures vehicles at 15 locations in eight countries. The OEM has expanded its production capacity significantly in recent years, with more than 300m korunas ($13.5m) invested in processes and plants in the Czech Republic since its acquisition by the Volkswagen Group in 1991.
Last month, Skoda announced its €214.5m ($262.2m) investment into new paintshop facilities at Mladá Boleslav, due to begin operations by mid-2019.
