Change of direction led Skoda back to its roots

Few household brands can point to a history quite as interesting as Skoda’s.

While today's stylish range is a familiar sight on Ireland's roads and is popular with just about all segments of the market, less than three decades ago the Skoda image was inextricably bound up with the drab functionality of the former Soviet bloc in eastern Europe. Between the early 1950s and the country's Velvet Revolution, the company was the former Czechoslovakia's sole national car manufacturer.

During that period, Skoda was very much focused on function over form. Every decision was centrally controlled, and not just by the management in the company's Mladá Boleslav headquarters but also by the communist government in Prague.

In retrospect, it is quite surprising that the deluded and often unintentionally hilarious policies that resulted did not prove fatal to the brand. In the years following the end of the second World War, Czechoslovakia became more and more isolated from outside influences and new vehicle production at the Skoda factory became increasingly basic and functional, reflecting the values of the government.

Raw materials were poor and, with little outside intervention, Skoda was unable to keep up with western motor manufacturers in terms of style and innovation.

Ideology

Compounding this already difficult situation, the authorities made rules based on ideology rather than the practicalities of car manufacturing, even insisting on windscreens not being raked too far back in case the cars looked decadently sporty.

This was a complete reversal of the culture that had prevailed in the company until then, in which innovation was a primary focus. Openness to change and a commitment to novelty had characterised Skoda since its foundation in a bicycle shop in 1895 – or, more accurately, an argument in a bicycle shop.

The company was founded by a pair of keen cyclists, Vaclav Laurin, a bicycle mechanic, and Vaclav Klement, a bookseller, when the latter complained about shoddy workmanship on his new bike. The less than helpful response from the producer prompted Klement to start repairing and then making bicycles himself, teaming up with Laurin under the Slavia brand name.

Demonstrating the innovative spirit that was to characterise the company over the years, the pair soon added motors to their popular bicycles and started manufacturing motorbikes in 1899. With several motorcycle-racing victories to their name, it was time to take on a new challenge, and cars were added to the range in 1905.

Expansion

By the early 1920s the company had expanded further, and was producing trucks, buses, aeroplane engines and agricultural machinery, such as motorised ploughs, along with its range of highly successful cars. The Skoda reputation for quality at the time was such that it was the only manufacturer granted a licence by the famous Spanish luxury car maker Hispano-Suiza to build its luxury limousines.

That spirit was restored in 1989 when everything changed for the company. The new Czech government went on the search for a western partner to help Skoda recover the lost ground of the previous four decades and formed a joint venture with Volkswagen, which saw the company subsequently become part of the Volkswagen group.

Innovation again became a watchword in all aspects of the company’s operations. According to Skoda Ireland’s head of marketing and product, Raymond Leddy, this starts with the actual production of the vehicles.

“When speaking about innovations in the automobile industry, most of us think of new solutions and technology used directly in the cars,” he says. “However, the changes in the production and development processes themselves are no less important. We constantly endeavour to ensure that our vehicles are as environmentally friendly as possible and this means ensuring that their production is ecological and environmentally friendly.”

This has resulted in emission levels at Skoda’s manufacturing plants falling since 1991 despite a tripling in the volume of vehicles produced.

Of course, the vehicles themselves are also highly advanced and feature the latest technological innovations.

“Being part of the Volkswagen group has brought great benefits to both Skoda as a company and to our customers,” says Leddy. “In particular, it enables us to incorporate the latest innovations into our range and deliver them to customers at a very affordable price. In many instances, Skoda owners are able to avail of features which would normally only be standard in cars of a much higher price, 50 per cent or more in some cases.”

Features

Some of these features are almost completely invisible to all but the most knowledgeable of drivers and include Volkswagen DSG (direct-shift gearbox) technology, which intuitively selects the next gear, and TSI engines, which combine petrol direct injection and turbocharging, resulting in a smoother, quieter drive along with higher performance and better fuel economy. These are just two of the innovations experienced by today’s Skoda drivers.

"There are many others, such as the four-wheel drive option on the Skoda Superb Combi, which allows you go places which would be inaccessible for regular cars and provides safer and more secure handling on the roads at the same time," says Leddy. "And if in-car entertainment and communication is important to you, our SmartLink technology allows you to connect your Android or Apple phone to the car and listen to all your music and use various apps, such as Google Maps, completely seamlessly. It's an exciting time to be a car buyer with manufacturers around the world constantly developing new technologies to enhance the driving experience. We will continue to strive to remain at the forefront."