Skoda commences electric car battery production in Czech Republic

Skoda has started production of electric vehicle batteries for Modular Electrification Toolkit (MEB) vehicles, making it the first European production site for these systems outside Germany.

A number of Volkswagen Group electric vehicles currently sit atop the MEB platform, including the Volkswagen ID.3, Skoda Enyaq iV and Audi Q4 e-tron. Batteries made at the Mladá Boleslav facility will be used in Skoda, Volkswagen, Audi and Seat MEB vehicles.

Around 250 employees will be creating more than 250,000 MEB battery systems each year on a newly built production line, which has had around 130 million euros (£109.3 million) invested into it.

Michael Oeljeklaus, Skoda Auto board member for production and logistics, said: “Today is a very special day for Skoda Auto: By launching the production of MEB battery systems, we are now manufacturing the absolute key component at the heart of the company. This means we have achieved another goal towards our successful transition to electromobility.

“I would like to thank the entire team who have worked very hard over recent months to set up this new production line. We have invested around 130 million euros and can now produce more than 250,000 MEB battery systems a year – for Skoda’s e-models and those of other Group brands. Our objective is clear: we want to produce E-components or E-vehicles at all three Czech plants by 2030.”

Three different sizes of battery will be created at the site – 55kwh, 62kWh and 82kWh – while employees will also be building a battery housing with an integrated cooling system, a battery management system and all the relevant electrical connections. Batteries for some of Volkswagen Group’s hybrid models, including the Skoda Superb iV, have been produced at Mladá Boleslav since 2019.