The adoption of this emission standard would in practice mean that Škoda Auto would have to stop producing 1.0 TSI engines, which would probably happen after 2026 if strict regulation was approved. As the European Commission pushes to reduce CO2 emissions in new cars, the share of conventional cars produced in European car plants will decrease. According to unions, by 2030, up to 70 percent of the cars produced could be electric cars.
Therefore, Škoda Auto has to deal with, for example, what it will produce in its plant in Vrchlabí in the future. Today, this factory is designed for the production of gearboxes. However, they have no use in electric cars. The future of the plant and employees in Vrchlabí thus largely depends on whether the carmaker manages to expand production with another product that is not endangered by the transition to electromobility.
Škoda Auto already has several plans today to keep employment as high as possible. “Our Board of Directors and Jaroslav Povšík, Chairman of the Kovo Unions, fought together to get a 1.5 TSI engine into production. And I can already say that this engine was knocked down on us. Our goal is to switch to these units, which is technically feasible and will not be dramatically expensive. This will extend our employment in the field of internal combustion engines by several years, “said Michael Oeljeklaus, a member of the Board of Directors for production and logistics, for the Škoda trade union.
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Škoda Auto only wants to sell electric cars! What changes are planned? • VIDEO Videohub
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Škoda Auto, which employs around 35,000 people in the Czech Republic, has already partially reduced its numbers this year. But she did so by natural fluctuations. For example, the retirement of people.
Today, the future of the Mladá Boleslav carmaker and parent group will be addressed by the Volkswagen Group’s Supervisory Board. It will discuss, for example, personnel changes in which the Chairman of the Board of Directors, Thomas Schäfer, could end up in Škoda’s management.
Škoda Auto operates three production plants in the Czech Republic, but also produces in China, Russia, Slovakia and India, mostly through group partnerships, as well as in Ukraine and Kazakhstan in cooperation with local partners. It operates in more than 100 markets. The carmaker has one of the most difficult years in history due to the lack of semiconductor chips. This year, due to a lack of components, it will not be able to produce about 20,000 new cars.
