ŠKODA

ŠKODA AUTO is a car manufacturer with a long tradition. Founded as a bicycle manufacturer in 1895 in what today is the Czech Republic, the two company founders, Václav Laurin and Václav Klement, soon recognised the signs of the times and began developing their first car in 1905. A little later, in 1925, the business founded as Laurin & Klement was acquired by the ŠKODA works, an industrial conglomerate that has given the company its present name. Gradually privatised after 1991 and then wholly taken over as a subsidiary of the Volkswagen Group, the design ingenuity of the early years has survived until today in the company’s brand essence and is clearly expressed in the distinctive logo of the brand, a logo that was first introduced in 1926 and has since then seen several contemporary updates. Symbolising the future orientation of the car manufacturer, the winged arrow is inspired, as legend has it, by the feather headdress of Native Americans tribes. The company’s current brand claim, “Simply Clever”, also reflects the originality and inventive genius of the past, as well as the company’s innovative drive of today. At the same time, it is a promise to customers that the car manufacturer fills with life in the form of clever and surprising detailed solutions. ŠKODA’s commitment to offering an outstanding price-performance ratio is thus effectively underlined and strengthened. With the slogan “For Whatever Drives You”, the company launched a global brand campaign in autumn 2018 that is aimed at strengthening the emotional appeal of the brand. Conceived for use on television, online, at events and dealer stores, the 360-degree campaign celebrates people who do things their own way driven by individual motivations such as ambition, adventurousness, the spirit of discovery or straightforward creativity. With this campaign, ŠKODA tries to appeal to and win over new customers from families and business people to lateral thinkers and freely spirited enthusiasts.