Today’s talks in Prague involving Herbert Diess, Chairman of the Board of Management of the Volkswagen Group, and the Czech Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Industry, Trade and Transport, Karel Havlíček will focus on the future direction of the Czech automotive industry with regard to electromobility. The aim of the discussion is to establish a common understanding of the next steps to ensure the Czech Republic emerges stronger from the fundamental transformation process in the automotive industry. The entire value chain of the e-car will be discussed. Among other things, the Volkswagen Group plans to build six gigafactories in Europe with a total capacity of 240 gigawatt hours by the end of the decade to meet the growing requirement for battery cells and guarantee security of supply. One of these cell factories is to be built in Central or Eastern Europe; a decision on the location is expected in the first half of 2022.
“The ŠKODA ENYAQ iV is one of the most attractive e-cars in Europe. Demand is clearly exceeding our expectations. I am pleased that the Czech government is fully committed to electric vehicles and the charging infrastructure. These measures will enable the model to become a bestseller in its home country, as well, and the installation of several thousand new charging points will further strengthen customer interest in e-vehicles.”
Herbert Diess, Chairman of the Board of Management of the Volkswagen Group
“The Czech Republic is an attractive potential location for one of the six battery cell factories that Volkswagen is planning in Europe, with competitive energy and labour costs, good connections to other Eastern European Group locations and one of the largest lithium deposits in Europe. The decisive factor will be that the country resolutely tackles the transition to electromobility – from the changeover to renewable energies to the consistent development of charging infrastructure and the comprehensive promotion of future technologies.”
Thomas Schmall, Volkswagen Group Board Member for Technology and the person responsible for battery cells and systems
“We are developing the Czech Republic, our home market, into an electric mobility centre as part of our NEXT LEVEL – ŠKODA STRATEGY 2030. Our goal is to secure jobs and create new ones so that the country emerges stronger from the
far-reaching transformation process. Today’s discussion has shown that the will is there on all sides. Now it is a matter of consistently tackling the next steps. ŠKODA AUTO is ready to make its contribution.”
Thomas Schäfer, CEO of ŠKODA AUTO
Several thousand new charging points for e-vehicles in the Czech Republic by 2025
Alongside the meeting, Karel Havlíček, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Industry, Trade and Transport, Daniel Beneš, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the ČEZ Group, and Martin Jahn, ŠKODA AUTO Board Member for Sales and Marketing and state agencies for road and rail transport signed a memorandum of understanding to establish several thousand charging points in the Czech Republic by 2025. The charging points are to be installed at railway stations and along main roads and will be supplied with CO₂-neutral electricity from ČEZ. The ČEZ Group is the largest energy group in Central and Eastern Europe and the largest electricity producer in the Czech Republic. The expansion of the charging infrastructure should significantly accelerate the switch to electric mobility and thus the country’s decarbonisation. The locations of the charging points will be determined in collaboration with ŠKODA AUTO and Elli, the Volkswagen Group subsidiary for charging solutions. Among other things, data on particularly busy routes will be factored into the process.
Czech Republic to become an electromobility hub with the help of ŠKODA AUTO
As part of the NEXT LEVEL – ŠKODA STRATEGY 2030, the company is planning the transition from the combustion engine to electric mobility. Specifically, e-components or e-vehicles are to be manufactured at all three Czech plants in Mladá Boleslav, Kvasiny and Vrchlabí by 2030. High-voltage traction batteries for the plug-in hybrid models SUPERB iV and OCTAVIA iV as well as for models of other Group brands are already being built. At the beginning of next year, production of MEB battery systems will also start in Mladá Boleslav for the ENYAQ iV. In addition, the Czech carmaker is working with partners to establish a stable supplier structure for electromobility.