Å KODA AUTO, part of Volkswagen Group, has announced the reopening of its Czech production facilities to the general public after being closed for more than two years due to the coronavirus pandemic.
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School groups and families with children aged ten and over are welcome and can rely on guided tours of selected plant areas and the final assembly. The tours are offered in various languages, including Czech, English, German and Dutch.
The only requirement for a guided tour of the Mladá Boleslav plant is to pick up a ticket from the ŠKODA Museum. The admission for a guided tour in Czech is 180 CZK (7.27 euros); for a plant tour in other languages, it is CZK 260 (10.51 euros).
Guided tours at the Kvasiny and Vrchlabà sites are free of charge. The tours, which last around two hours, are often accompanied by the carmaker’s former employees.
The tours are aimed at technology enthusiasts as well as school classes and families with children aged ten and over.
The Škoda ENYAQ iV family, the manufacturer’s first all-electric production models based on the Volkswagen Group’s Modular Electrification Toolkit (MEB) are now rolling off the same production line in Mladá Boleslav as vehicles with combustion engines based on the MQB.
To achieve this, ŠKODA AUTO made major adjustments to the production line. The production of battery systems for various Group brands’ MEB vehicles has also recently been launched at the main plant, making Mladá Boleslav the only location in Europe outside Germany where these battery systems are manufactured.
Around 7,000 employees currently produce the SUPERB and SUPERB iV models as well as the KAROQ and KODIAQ in Kvasiny. By relocating the new-generation SUPERB to Bratislava, capacities will be created at the site for an additional 150,000 units of the SUV series KODIAQ and KAROQ.
The Vrchlabà plant plays a central role in component production for ŠKODA AUTO. This is where the DQ200 automatic direct-shift gearbox is produced; in early February this year, the four millionth DQ200 gearbox left the assembly line since production started in October 2012.
Since the end of 2020, the site has been the Czech carmaker’s first CO2-neutral production facility.
To go on a guided tour of the Mladá Boleslav plant, you must wear sturdy shoes without high heels and have your own vehicle with a free seat for the tour guide. The Å KODA Museum can arrange a minibus for groups of up to seven people by prior agreement. ■