Škoda Auto a.s. (), often shortened to Škoda, is a Czech automobile manufacturer established in 1896 as the successor to Laurin & Klement and headquartered in Mladá Boleslav, Czech Republic. Škoda Works became state owned in 1948. After the Velvet Revolution, it was gradually privatized starting in 1991, eventually becoming a wholly owned subsidiary of the German multinational conglomerate Volkswagen Group in 2000. As of 2017, Škoda's profit margin was the second-highest of all Volkswagen AG brands after Porsche.
Its slogan was “Simply Clever” until 2022, when a new brand identity and a new slogan "Let's Explore" were introduced.
History
The Škoda Works was founded by Czech engineer Emil von Škoda in 1859 in Plzeň, then in the Kingdom of Bohemia in the Austrian Empire, and was originally an arms manufacturer. It was one of the largest European industrial conglomerates in the 20th century, and is the predecessor of today's Škoda Auto, Doosan Škoda Power, and Škoda Transportation companies. Although Škoda is named after its founder, the word "škoda" also means "pity" or "shame" in Czech.
Laurin & Klement
thumbnail|Founders [[Václav Klement (left) and Václav Laurin (1895)]]
thumbnail|[[Laurin & Klement Type A (1905)]]
As with many long-established car manufacturers, the company that became Škoda Auto started by manufacturing bicycles. Škoda (then Laurin & Klement) was founded in 1896 as a velocipede manufacturer.
In , 26-year-old Václav Klement (1868–1938), who was a bookseller in Mladá Boleslav, Kingdom of Bohemia (today's Czech Republic, then part of Austria-Hungary), was unable to obtain spare parts to repair his German bicycle. Klement returned his bicycle to the manufacturers, Seidel and Naumann, with a letter, in Czech, asking them to carry out repairs, only to receive a reply, in German: "If you want us to answer you, we insist that you convey your message in a language we understand." Not satisfied with the reply and realizing the business potential, Klement, despite having no technical experience, decided to start a bicycle repair shop, which he and Václav Laurin opened in 1896 in Mladá Boleslav. Before going into partnership with Klement, Laurin had been an established bicycle manufacturer in the nearby town of Turnov.
In 1898, after moving to their newly built factory, the pair bought a Werner "Motocyclette". Laurin & Klement's first motorcyclette, powered by an engine mounted on the handlebars driving the front wheels, proved dangerous and unreliable – an early accident on it cost Laurin a front tooth. To design a safer machine with its structure around the engine, the pair wrote to German ignition specialist Robert Bosch for advice on a different electromagnetic system. Their new Slavia motorcycle made its debut in 1899, and the company became the first motorcycle factory in Central Europe.
By 1905, the firm was manufacturing automobiles, making it the second-oldest car manufacturer in the Czech lands after Tatra. The company, with an area of , had a workforce of 320 and used 170 special machine tools, power-driven by of steam power.
Škoda
thumb|left|Škoda 422 (1929)
After World War I, the Laurin & Klement company began producing trucks, but in 1924, after running into problems and being affected by a fire on their premises, the company sought a new partner.
Meanwhile, Akciová společnost, dříve Škodovy závody (Limited Company, formerly the Škoda Works), an arms manufacturer and multisector concern in Plzeň, which had become one of the largest industrial enterprises in Europe and the largest in Czechoslovakia, sought to enlarge its non-arms-manufacturing base, so it acquired Laurin & Klement in 1925. It also started manufacturing cars in cooperation with Hispano-Suiza. Most of the later production took place under Škoda's name.
An assembly line was used for production from 1930 onwards. Also in 1930, a formal spin-off of the car became a new company, Akciová společnost pro automobilový průmysl or abbreviated ASAP, happened. ASAP remained a wholly owned subsidiary of the Škoda Works, and continued to sell cars under the Škoda marque. Apart from the factory in Mladá Boleslav, it also included the firm's representation, sales offices, and services, as well as a central workshop in Prague. At the time, the car factory in Mladá Boleslav covered an area of 215,000 m<sup>2</sup> and employed 3,750 blue-collar and 500 white-collar workers.
thumb|Škoda Š 932 prototype, 1932
In 1932, ASAP-Škoda in Mladá Boleslav, Bohemia, produced a type Škoda 932 prototype of a streamlined 4-seater two-door car with a rear air-cooled flat-four engine designed by Karel Hrdlička and Vsevold Korolkov. This car's bodywork closely resembled the small car designs yet to come.
After a decline caused by the economic depression, Škoda introduced a new line of cars in the 1930s, which significantly differed from its previous products. A new design of chassis with backbone tube and all-around independent suspension was developed under the leadership of chief engineer Vladimír Matouš and modelled on the one first introduced by Hans Ledwinka in Tatra. First used on model Škoda 420 Standard in 1933, it aimed at solving the insufficient torsional stiffness of the ladder frame. While in 1933 Škoda had a 14% share of the Czechoslovak car market and occupied third place behind Praga and Tatra, the new line made it a market leader by 1936, with a 39% share in 1938. The UK and US air forces bombed the Škoda works repeatedly between 1940 and 1945. The final massive air raid took place on 25 April 1945, and resulted in the near-complete destruction of the Škoda armament works and about 1,000 dead or wounded.
Post-World War II
thumb|Škoda 1101 Tudor Roadster (1949)
When, by July 1945, the Mladá Boleslav factory had been reconstructed, production of Škoda's first post-World War II car, the 1101 series, began. It was essentially an updated version of the pre-World War II Škoda Popular. In the autumn of 1948, Škoda (along with all other large manufacturers) became part of the communist planned economy, which meant it was separated from the parent company, Škoda Works. Despite unfavourable political conditions and losing contact with technical development in noncommunist countries, Škoda retained a good reputation until the 1960s, producing models such as the Škoda 440 Spartak, 445 Octavia, Felicia, and Škoda 1000 MB.
thumb|Škoda Octavia Super (1960)
Starting in 1957, the Škoda Octavia, and later the Felicia, were imported to the United States amid a wave of new imports as some American consumers sought out cars smaller than typical Detroit offerings. Škoda’s American dealerships, concentrated on the West Coast and in the Northeast, quickly encountered buyer resistance due to the Cold War political climate in ways that comparable Western European cars did not. The cars were also not well supported after sale, making even minor repairs difficult. U.S. sales peaked in 1959 but fell sharply after 1960, and many were sold at steep discounts. A few later cars, including 1000MB models, were sold in the U.S. as late as 1966-67, but in very small numbers. and had significant sales success in the UK during the 1980s.