SKODA AUTO opens new centre in Mladá Boleslav to build test vehicles and prototypes

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Due to the increasingly complex and powerful electronic architecture of modern vehicles, the focus is on functional tests of electrics, electronics and assistance systems, as well as on communication between in-car computers.

David Vaněk, Head of Model and Prototype Manufacture, added: “Our new facility has three floors and houses the parts warehouse, body shop, final assembly and paint shop, all within the smallest of footprints ensuring short distances. At the same time, the facility’s high degree of automation allows for more agile processes and a significant increase in production capacity for test vehicles and prototypes. Furthermore, the building features state-of-the-art virtual reality technologies as well as 168 workplaces in open-space offices and 13 meeting rooms. A large part of the complex – 14,000 m2 – is used for vehicle manufacture.”

The car bodies are built on the second floor, while the third floor contains the final assembly and the paint shop. Furthermore, weight-saving designs can also be manufactured here, as ŠKODA AUTO has expanded its body shop to include an innovation centre for testing joining techniques, such as clinching, riveting, flow drill screw (FDS) fastening, laser welding and composite construction.