This is obviously a crossover car with a very beautiful appearance, especially the newly designed closed middle net. The combination of glass panel and luminous body makes the transparent visual effect both futuristic and familial. Reminiscent of Czech quintessence-crystal cutting technology.
This brand has been in China for more than ten years, but many people actually don't know its story.
Ordinary people's cognition of Skoda stays in a brand owned by Volkswagen. Anyone who knows a thing or two knows that this brand originated in the Czech Republic, and the historical accumulation of 125 years far exceeds that of the public. People who are interested in military weapons may know that this brand has made tanks and armored vehicles, which once made Germans bow to their knees.
Like many other brand stories, Skoda was born out of the stubbornness of its founder. The familiar "Flying Arrow", that is, Skoda was formally established as an automobile brand only in 1925, formerly known as L&K Company, by Laurin &; ? Clemente was founded in 1895.
▲ Statue in front of Skoda Museum in Czech Republic
Cars were not popular at that time, but bicycles were very popular. Clemente was dissatisfied with the quality of bicycles made in Germany and wrote to the manufacturer in Czech, asking for maintenance. But I got an arrogant reply. "If you want an answer, please write it in German that we can understand."
▲L & amp； k？ Slavia
This of course angered Clement, who immediately decided to make his own bicycle. And be with Vaclav? Laurin*** formed Laurin together? & amp？ Klement company, and named the bicycle with the word "Slavia" (slave), warning the people not to forget the national humiliation. In addition, they also produced motorcycles with power assistance.
▲L & amp； k？ Slavia? 400? make a copy for
Finally, the first car, Voiturette, was built in 1905. A: At that time, there were not many companies capable of producing cars, and even participated in competitions, with good results. Therefore, this car has achieved great success and won profits and reputation for the company.
▲Voiturette？ A
Although L & ampK has good strength, it is a small company after all. 1925, Pearson Skoda and L &；; K hit it off and established Skoda Automobile Company, a brand with the logo of "Flying Arrow" kicked off.
Before World War II, Skoda had its own very complete product line. From high-end 860, to mid-end 422, and then to fashion? 995。 Among them, the top luxury models were even more expensive than Rolls Royce, the exclusive car of European aristocrats and rich people at that time. And popular? According to the historical records in 995, 700 vehicles were exported to China during the Republic of China.
▲ Skoda 860 and popular? Model 995
During this period of history, the Superb produced by 1934 to 1940 was equipped with a 4.0-liter V8 engine, and the maximum speed was 136 km/h, which was a masterpiece of Skoda's peak era. Superb's car name is still in use today.
Like all European car brands, the catastrophe of World War II is inevitable. However, the production capacity of Skoda Arsenal is one of the best in Europe, such as the large-scale use of 35t/38t tanks, which Germany coveted in the early days.
In order to strengthen the defense of ordinary armored vehicles, the chief engineer of the Czech army changed into streamlined armor plates and put them on the chassis of the car body to make a unique armored vehicle like a turtle. Officially named "ObrnnAutomobil? Models? 1923"。 After Germany occupied Czechoslovakia, it also fell into the hands of invaders.
Before the war, Skoda was a veritable mainstream brand, and the productivity of both civilian cars and military industry could compete with the traditional car brands in Western Europe. However, the good times did not last long. After World War II, Skoda was assigned to the Oriental Group and owned by the Soviet Union. According to the will of the country, we began to produce low-priced models that the people can afford. In that era when everything was in ruins, Skoda's car was cheap, but it was reliable and durable with years of experience in building cars.
▲ Skoda? VOS
Including 440? Spartak, 445? Octavia, Felicia and 1000? MB and other models still maintain a good brand reputation. However, since then, the communication between Skoda and western countries in design and technology has been interrupted, and the gap in product strength has gradually widened.
There are also some models exported overseas, including Felicia compact coupe with four-cylinder engine and Rapid with rear engine. Coupe, etc. Until the 1980s, the technical level of Skoda's models remained at the level of the 1960s. Old appearance, backward technology, weak power and poor quality have become the general impression of Skoda by European consumers at that time. Rapid is called "Porsche for the poor", which is not a good word, because nothing can be compared with Porsche except the rear engine.
▲Rapid？ Two-seater four-wheeled carriage
After the end of the Cold War, Skoda after privatization intends to seek external cooperation, which has aroused the interest of many European and American car companies, including Volkswagen, Renault, BMW, GM and Ford. Of course, they have their own abacus. After the cold war, the eastern European market has great potential, and the auto giants all want to use Skoda to explore low-end emerging markets.
The final bidders are only Renault and Volkswagen. Renault's intention is obvious. It hopes to produce cheap cars in the Czech Republic after taking a stake in Skoda, which is not in line with the Czech people's desire for brand revival. The public is more open-minded, so what about CEO? Carl. Icahn made a promise at that time that he would continue to retain the Skoda brand in the future and help it put into production high-quality models.
In the end, the Czechs chose Volkswagen and formally transferred 30% of the shares in 199 1. In the following years, Volkswagen really fulfilled its promise to share the brand's latest platform technology with Skoda * * *, and Ming Rui, Jing Rui, Speedmaster and other models familiar to China consumers appeared. Skoda's reputation in the global market has also reversed.
Summary:
In the final analysis, how to position Skoda is the "housework" of the public, just like how Geely positions Volvo and Polaris, outsiders don't need to say much. However, we can see that this century-old automobile brand has not given up its pursuit of individuality because it joined Volkswagen. For example, the old Hao Rui's big hatchback tailgate was well received. Although Yeti has been controversial, its unique positioning and excellent practicality have also attracted its own fans. The positioning of Kodiak and Crocker is slightly lower than that of Volkswagen's brother models, but they also have certain advantages in storage space and configuration, and the design also maintains a distinctive family style.
It can be seen that it is trying to "keep a distance" from the public and stick to the Czech style. Where will this brand go in the future? Maybe a new change is needed.
This article comes from car home, the author of the car manufacturer, and does not represent car home's position.