Mlada Boleslav – this is where the heart of the largest Czech manufacturer beats cars. Skoda has gigantic plants in this inconspicuous city, employing 27,000 people. This is more than half of all 44,000 employees of the company around the world. The most famous models such as Skoda Fabia, Skoda Octavia or Skoda Scala are produced in this city. Of those produced last year, 888,000 Skoda cars as many as 556 thousand was founded in Mladá Boleslav.
“Many families have been working at Skoda plants for generations”
Czechs are proud of their brand. And this is visible at every step. In the Old Market Square (small, because the city is not too big, it has an area of 28.9 km2) there is a cafe called “Skoda Neznajit”, referring to bets. The players of the FK Mlada Boleslav team play with a large “Skoda” inscription on their shirts, because the company is their sponsor. This is also visible in the factories dominating the city, a large museum telling the history of this plant and the streets of, for example, Václav Klement, one of the founders of Skoda.
The numbers are the best proof of how important these plants are for this city. Almost 30,000 people work there. people. Meanwhile, 46,000 people live in the city itself. people. There are no numbers showing exactly how many residents of Mladá Boleslav are employed in Skoda, but it is known that most of them come from this city. Theoretically, among the passers-by we meet on the streets of Mlady Boleslav, every second person is question: “where do you work?” should answer “in Skoda”.
Most would probably do it with pride. The Czechs, although not very sentimental, have a weakness for their largest automotive concern.
There are many families who have been Skoda employees for many generations, which is a source of great pride for the company and themselves
– says historian Jan Hrbek in an interview with Next.gazeta.pl. Skoda cars account for more than one third of all new cars sold in the Czech Republic. This best shows the brand's position in this country.
Czechs work at Skoda for prestige and earnings. We know the stakes
In the Czech language, there is even a special term for people employed in Skoda – it is “Skodovaci” (Skodowiacy). Sometimes fans of this brand are also mockingly called this, and, as we mentioned, there are a lot of them in the Czech Republic. Apart from prestige Work in Skoda it's also a good salary. Service jooble states that average earnings are 39,052 Czech crowns, or approximately PLN 6,600. This is probably one of the factors that attract Polish employers to this position. We learned that Skoda employs approximately 2,100 Polish employees, of which approximately 550 in the city of Mladá Boleslav.
It is worth noting that the choice of this city as the headquarters of the Czech giant was based on historical reasons. – Mlada Boleslav is the place where the founders of the company Laurin and Klement lived. They started building bicycles in 1895, and later moved on to motorcycles and cars. Skoda bought the car manufacturer in 1925 and remained in its hometown, expanding both in terms of employee numbers and production scope under the name Skoda Auto for almost 100 years, Jan Hrbek tells us. In 2021, the brand reported that it had produced 15 million cars in Mladá Boleslav since 1905.
“We want to share success”
Skoda emphasizes that it is not (or perhaps it does not want to be) a parasite that takes over the city and subjugates it. Katerina Boukalova from Skoda assures us that “Skoda Auto has a long-term and multi-faceted cooperation with the city of Mladá Boleslav, which is deeply rooted in their commitment to supporting the region and its people.”
The company will invest in local infrastructure projects, such as road improvements and public transport systems, and support education to provide the market with a “skilled workforce”. There is even a private university in the city, SAVS (Skoda Auto Vysoka Skola), where future employees of the concern are educated. Skoda also sponsors local teams, cultural events and the green transformation. A Grant Fund has even been created to help coordinate joint investments.
Through these activities, we want to make a positive and lasting impact on the city of Mlada Boleslav and its residents, ensuring that our growth and success is shared with the community that supports us
– Katerina Boukalova tells us.
The Czech economy is based on cars
The town of Mlada Boleslav can be considered the heart of the Czech economy. Because it is based on motorization. Automotive Industry Association (AutoSAP) reports that in 2023, the automotive industry was responsible for 34%. Czech industry and 9 percent Czech GDP. Automotive brought as much as 80 billion Czech crowns to the budget. Approximately 500,000 people are expected to be employed in this industry. With approximately 11 million Czech citizens, this is impressive.
What is worth emphasizing, as many as 24 percent Czech exports are the automotive industry. We are talking about exports of 1.266 billion Czech crowns. Germany has been the leader in imports from the Czech Republic for many years. As much as 29.4 percent Czech exports from the automotive industry went there. These markets are very interconnected, which is important, especially in the context of the recent challenges of the German automotive industry and beyond. Skoda has been owned by the German concern Volkswagen since 1991. The vast majority of vehicles from the Czech Republic are exported. This percentage is as much as 92%.
In terms of vehicle production, the Czech Republic is the third largest producer in Europe and the tenth largest in the world. No country produces more buses. What is most interesting, however, is that the Czech Republic ranks second in the world in terms of passenger car production per capita. The production of all motor vehicles in the Czech Republic more than doubled between 2005 and 2023. Last year it was 1,405 million vehicles. In the first half of 2024, production growth continued. Year to year there was an increase of 5%. Undoubtedly, these numbers are driven by plants from a small Czech town – Mlada Boleslav.