Volkswagen‘s Czech unit Skoda Auto plans to move production of some high-earning models to other automaker’s plants in other countries, the automaker’s trade union boss said in an article on Thursday.
A Skoda spokeswoman refused to comment.
Skoda is the central European country’s biggest exporter, but its success has sometimes caused disharmony within Volkswagen, whose labor boss has accused it of cannibalizing sales.
Jaroslav Povsik, Skoda’s trade union chairman and supervisory board member, said the company prepared to shift production of the luxury Skoda Superb and SUV Skoda Kodiaq to Slovakia and Germany, while another SUV, Seat brand’s Ateca, was set to go to Spain.
“Isn’t this campaign against Skoda enough? Do we have to strip Skoda of all that is good and excellent that we have now?” Povsik said in a front-page article in the union’s weekly bulletin, Skodovacky Odborar.
“We will fight on all fronts – in the press, with the government, via the public, at Volkswagen, everywhere,” he added.
In 2019, Skoda made 29,298 Superbs, 101,586 Kodiaqs, and 98,370 Seat Atecas at its plants located in the Czech Republic.
Globally, the company delivered 1.24 million cars in the last year, with China and Germany as its top markets. Like other automakers, Skoda is battling to get back from shutdowns because of the coronavirus crisis and now deals with uncertainty over demand.
Volkswagen Group CEO Herbert Diess informed Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) in July that Skoda – one of VW’s 12 brands – needed to do more to rival with South Korean and French competitors.
