Škoda Auto opened a new engine center in M. Boleslav

New building of the engine testing center, Mladá Boleslav; source: Škoda Auto

Mladá Boleslav - The car manufacturer Škoda Auto today opened a new center for the development and testing of units in Mladá Boleslav for 45 million euros (approximately 1.2 billion crowns). The center features 21 new testing stations for engine and component testing, and the construction took nearly two years.
    The engine center was established within the existing technical and development center in Mladá Boleslav-Česana. About 300 people, mostly from the current staff, will work there. Since the construction took place in a flood zone, the company had to adjust the project; for example, the building stands on pillars.
    Škoda Auto is the only car manufacturer in the Czech Republic that not only produces cars but also develops them. Since 1991, it has invested more than 280 billion crowns in the country. All vehicles are developed in Mladá Boleslav, both those for domestic production and those that come off the assembly lines in foreign plants.
    Currently, the Czech car manufacturer is involved in the development of brakes, transmissions, engines, and components within the group. In addition to testing new engines prepared for serial production, the new center will also be capable of conducting demanding dynamic tests, which will be utilized by the Škoda Motorsport team, for example. Units will also be tested for various foreign markets and for different types of fuel. All types of gasoline engines are currently being developed here, and according to the head of unit development, Martin Hrdlička, a turbo engine 1.0 TSI will also be developed at the center.
    According to Minister of Finance Andrej Babiš, the Mladá Boleslav car manufacturer is a model example of successful privatization, although he noted that the Czech Republic is not prepared for investments due to insufficient infrastructure.
    "I always say that we primarily need research and innovation in the Central Bohemian Region, so this has succeeded here, and I believe it will benefit the entire region for many years," said Central Bohemian Governor Miloš Petera (ČSSD) to ČTK. According to him, discussions are currently ongoing about extending the bypass around Mladá Boleslav or expanding the main road across Mladá Boleslav. "It should be expanded to prevent traffic jams during the change of shifts at the car factory," Petera said.
    The car manufacturer in Mladá Boleslav has the fourth-largest development center in the Volkswagen group.
    In the first half of this year, Škoda delivered 522,500 vehicles to customers, 12.5 percent more than in the same period last year. This year, it is expected to sell over a million vehicles for the first time.
    Engine production began in Mladá Boleslav in 1899. Four years after the company was established, which initially focused on bicycle manufacturing, its founders Václav Laurin and Václav Klement (L&K) equipped a bicycle with an auxiliary engine for the first time, creating what is known as a motorcycle. For the propulsion of these two-wheeled vehicles, single-cylinder engines with outputs of 1.25 or 1.75 horsepower were produced at that time. To date, the manufacturer has produced approximately 11.6 million engines.