Skoda will make some of its Karoq SUV at a Volkswagen plant (Osnabrueck) in Germany due to high volume of orders and upgrades to the Czech lead plant.
Reports in the Czech media say the Skoda Mladá Boleslav plant wil be upgraded with a new paint shop to boost capacity.
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The VW factory in Osnabrueck, which also builds the Porsche Cayenne SUV, will paint and assemble the Skoda Karoq, but the move will only be temporary with the bulk of Karoq production set to remain in the Czech Republic, Skoda said.
The volume switch starts at the end of this year and continues in 2019 to meet high demand for the model, reports say.
Karoq production commenced at Kvasiny during July 2017 but the ramp up was intentionally slow and the first vehicles did not reach customers until October. In January, build was added at another Czech plant, this time the company’s main factory adjacent to its headquarters in Mladá Boleslav. The SAIC Volkswagen joint venture also manufactures the Karoq, production at Ningbo having commenced at the start of the year.
Skoda reports strong demand for its SUV models. Sales of the large SUV Skoda Kodiag increased by more than 500% to 38,100 units in the first quarter. The Skoda Karoq, which was launched last autumn, is also contributing to growth for the brand. Skoda delivered 17,100 units of the compact SUV in the first quarter.
See also: ANALYSIS – Skoda goes after Qashqai with new Karoq
