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Škoda Auto and the automotive industry faced many challenges in the past year, including the ongoing semiconductor shortage, the war in Ukraine, supply chain issues, rising energy and raw material prices and continuing geopolitical uncertainty. Despite these obstacles, the company delivered 731,300 vehicles and maintains a high order backlog, which demonstrates the strong customer demand for its vehicles. The rapidly increasing popularity of the Enyaq iV (+20%) highlights the success of Škoda’s recently launched e-offensive. In addition, Škoda’s efficient combustion engine models remain very popular, with the Octavia being the most successful, followed by the SUVs Kamiq and Kodiaq. In 2022, Škoda also significantly strengthened its internationalisation initiative: In the strategically important growth market of India, the carmaker has more than doubled its deliveries. Another key step in leveraging growth potential will be its expansion into the Vietnamese market.

Klaus Zellmer, Škoda Auto CEO, says: “Never before in its recent history has Škoda Auto been confronted with such extensive challenges as in the past year. Despite these difficult times, our company is making steady progress thanks to an attractive and modern model portfolio comprising e-models and ICE cars, as well as our strong, motivated team and the close cooperation with our social partner, KOVO. We’ve demonstrated resilience, a quality that is more important than ever in a fast-changing environment. With the acceleration of our e-offensive, we’re well positioned for the upcoming years and will continue to strengthen the Czech Republic as a key automotive and e-mobility hub. The market situation will remain tense in 2023, but we’re cautiously optimistic that the situation will improve in the coming months. Furthermore, our strategy is already proving successful, and our products are very well received by customers. Thus, we’re building on a very solid foundation to successfully steer Škoda through 2023, when we will introduce the new generation of our Superb and Kodiaq, among other projects.

Martin Jahn, Škoda Auto Board Member for Sales and Marketing, adds: “We delivered 731,300 vehicles worldwide last year, and we more than doubled our deliveries in India, already one of our three most important markets. The models we launched in 2022 are receiving a lot of interest from customers. The new Fabia Monte Carlo has had a good start, and the all-electric Enyaq iV continues to enjoy a significant increase in popularity. We accomplished all these achievements despite the coronavirus pandemic, the semiconductor shortage and the war in Ukraine. I want to thank our customers for their patience with the long delivery times that have resulted. We’re working hard to bring the cars to the customers as soon as possible. I would also like to thank all our partners – especially our dedicated dealers – for their extraordinary efforts. Some promising highlights will follow this year: the new generation of the Kodiaq and Superb, as well as facelifts of the Kamiq and Scala. Meanwhile, the work on our e-offensive is in full swing. We’ll be launching three new all-electric models as early as 2026, with more to follow.”

Investing in a strong future
Škoda Auto is accelerating its electric offensive and investing in transformation: Over the coming years, the Czech car manufacturer will allocate a further 5.6 billion euros towards
e-mobility and 700 million euros towards digitalisation. The transformation is already visible: In the summer of 2022, the company unveiled its new brand identity with a refreshed design language, a new logo and a comprehensive update of the corporate identity (CI).

The car manufacturer is also continuing to internationalise the company and is about to enter the Vietnamese market. In cooperation with Thanh Cong Motor Vietnam (TC Motor) as a local partner, Škoda Auto will offer the first European models there during the first half of this year.

Article source: www.skoda-storyboard.com

The ŠKODA lighting design team has been awarded with a prestigious People Awards by the British online portal Car Design News (CDN). In the first-ever award decided with votes, the Czech car manufacturer came out on top against top-class competitors in the “Best Lighting Design Team” category. Representatives of ŠKODA Design accepted the award at a gala dinner in London’s Leicester Square. The jury comprising 17 renowned international automotive and design experts presented the People Awards in 14 categories to personalities responsible for the final product design. In addition, ŠKODA was one of the four finalists in the “Equality by Design” category at this year’s awards ceremony.

Ambience, user-friendliness and communication through light
In the “Best Lighting Design Team” category, Car Design News (CDN) awarded car designers who use light to create a more pleasant ambience in the interior, to increase user-friendliness and driving comfort or to communicate with other road users. The lighting design team of the Czech car manufacturer prevailed against four top-class competitors. The 17 internationally renowned jury members from the automotive and design industry judged the lighting design of the entire current ŠKODA product range and praised its unique lighting signature. This also characterises the Crystal Face in the battery-electric models of the ENYAQ iV family, with 131 LEDs that illuminate not only the vertical ribs but also the horizontal bar of the ŠKODA grille. Before entering the vehicle, the Crystal Face, together with the full LED matrix headlights and rear lights, creates an animated welcome effect.

Awards for the “Faces behind the Product”
The inaugural People Awards recognise individuals and teams in all areas of automotive design, rather than products, and aim to bring together young talent in the industry. The awards in 14 categories represent every step of the design process and are open to all designers in the international automotive industry. The UK online portal Car Design News provides news, insight and background information for the global car design community.

Article source: www.skoda-storyboard.com

ŠKODA is trialling a new feature in its Traffication infotainment app. The latest version of the app, which is being tested in a pilot project in the Czech Republic, now warns of approaching trains, reducing the risk of accidents at level crossings. This feature complements other functions in the Traffication app, such as warning of wrong-way drivers and alerting the driver to the risk of inadvertently entering a motorway against the flow of traffic, to further improve road safety.

Safety first
ŠKODA is continually adding clever real-time solutions to enhance road safety. In collaboration with the Czech railway company Leo Express, ŠKODA is offering a new feature in its Traffication infotainment app as part of a pilot project. Customers already using the app can download the update now. An update notification will appear in the infotainment notification centre. Similarly, the in-car shop will show that an update is available. The app will be installed after being confirmed by the user.

Cloud-based solution
Real-time train locations are regularly transmitted to the cloud, which then communicates the information to any ŠKODA vehicle using the Traffication infotainment app near a level crossing with a train approaching. The warning about the approaching train is shown on the central infotainment display along with an acoustic and pop-up notification. ŠKODA is already working on integrating other railway companies across Europe, while discussions with several others are ongoing.

Easy download
Traffication is available for download from the in-car shop and online in the ŠKODA Connect shop. It can be installed in all current ŠKODA models apart from the ENYAQ iV, provided the vehicle is equipped with the top infotainment system from the third-generation Modular Infotainment Matrix. The app then runs automatically in the background without the driver having to switch it on. It immediately shows warnings on the central infotainment display whenever drivers encounter traffic hazards in their immediate vicinity.

More than trains: slippery roads and bad weather
Besides the newly added warnings of approaching trains, the app already displays other types of warnings either from traffic information providers or directly from ŠKODA cars. Traffication can warn drivers of severe weather, bad road conditions, or accidents ahead. In addition, the app can detect a wrong-way driver joining a motorway against the traffic flow and warn other drivers of the potential danger. Poor visibility can be identified, for example by ŠKODA vehicles switching the fog lights on, and this information is sent to the cloud. In addition, ŠKODA drivers can manually report traffic hazards to the cloud with a single click to warn all other ŠKODA drivers using Traffication. The app is now available in 32 European countries and issues warnings in 23 languages.

Article source: www.skoda-storyboard.com

Crowned ‘Switzerland’s Favourite Car 2023’, the ŠKODA ENYAQ COUPÉ RS iV has secured the Czech carmaker its third consecutive victory in the renowned readers’ poll conducted by several major Swiss media and online portals. 6.8% of over 28,000 readers and online users voted for the battery-electric coupé SUV, ranking the flagship of the current ŠKODA model range first among 50 new models. Last year, the ENYAQ iV clinched the coveted title and the OCTAVIA left the competition behind in the race for ‘Switzerland’s favourite car 2021’.

This is the twelfth time the magazines ‘Schweizer Illustrierte’, ‘Blick’, ‘L’Illustré’, ‘La Domenica’ and ‘SonntagsBlick’ have teamed up with online portal ‘AutoScout24’ to organise the ‘Swiss Car of the Year’. In the ‘Public Choice’ category, more than 28,000 readers and online users took part in the poll for ‘Switzerland’s Favourite Car’. Receiving 6.8% of the votes, the ŠKODA ENYAQ COUPÉ RS iV held its own against the competition and came out ahead of 50 new models that were introduced on the Swiss market in 2022 or can be ordered by March 2023 at the latest. This secured the prestigious award for the Czech manufacturer for the third time in a row. In 2021, the OCTAVIA became the first ŠKODA model ever to win the vote as ‘Switzerland’s favourite car 2021’, before the ENYAQ iV successfully defended the title for the brand in 2022.

Sporty coupé rounds off the top end of the ENYAQ family
The ENYAQ COUPÉ RS iV is the first all-electric member of the sporty ŠKODA RS family and complements the internationally successful ENYAQ iV SUV. With its gently sloping roofline from the B-pillar onwards, the ENYAQ COUPÉ RS iV offers generous space in the back and a boot capacity of 570 litres. The excellent drag coefficient of c_d 0.248 contributes to the model’s impressive range of over 500 kilometres in the WLTP cycle.

Another award following the Golden Steering Wheel 2022
The ENYAQ COUPÉ RS iV boasts the most powerful drivetrain in ŠKODA’s portfolio. Two electric motors deliver a system output of 220 kW and all-wheel drive. With a top speed of 180 km/h, it is 20 km/h faster than the other versions of the ENYAQ COUPÉ iV. The elegant design, high level of comfort, above-average space and long range make the ŠKODA ENYAQ COUPÉ RS iV the perfect companion for everyday driving. Being voted ‘Switzerland’s favourite car’ is the latest success for the coupé SUV: At the beginning of November, the Czech carmaker’s top model won the prestigious Golden Steering Wheel 2022 presented by the German car magazine ‘Auto Bild’ and the newspaper ‘Bild am Sonntag’.

Article source: www.skoda-storyboard.com

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