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PRAGUE (Reuters) – Volkswagen’s Czech unit, Skoda Auto, plans to move production of some high-income models to VW Group plants in several countries, the head of the car manufacturers’ union said in an article on Thursday.
A spokeswoman for Skoda declined to comment.
Skoda is the Central European country’s largest exporter, yet its good luck has caused friction within Volkswagen, whose union boss has accused it of cannibalizing sales.
Jaroslav Povsik, president of the union and member of Skoda’s supervisory board, said the company planned to move production of the luxury SUVs Skoda Superb and Skoda Kodiaq to Slovakia and Germany, respectively, while other SUVs, the Seat Ateca brand, were due to Spain.
“Isn’t this crusade against Skoda enough?Should we strip Skoda of everything that is smart and that we have now?” said Povsik in a front-page article in the union’s weekly newsletter, Skodovacky Odborar.
“We will fight on all fronts: in the press, with the government, the public, in Volkswagen, everywhere,” he said.
Last year, Skoda manufactured 29,298 Superbs, 101,586 Kodiaq and 98,370 Seat Atecas in its Czech Republic.
Globally, the company delivered 1. 24 million cars in 2019, with China and Germany as its main markets. Like other automakers, Skoda is suffering closures due to the coronavirus crisis and now faces uncertainty about demand.
Volkswagen Group chief executive Herbert Diess told The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) in July that Skoda, one of VW’s 12 brands, must do more to compete with its South Korean and French rivals.
(Report via Robert Muller; edited through Philippa Fletcher)