Skoda celebrates 130 years with Laurin & Klement

Words by Mark Slack

This year is Skoda’s 130th year and since 1995, the company’s high specification cars have borne the Laurin & Klement name. L&K really formed the basis of Skoda today and the story began back in 1925 as the Mladá Boleslav-based company Laurin & Klement was celebrating its 30th anniversary and 20 years of automobile production, it joined forces with the Škoda industrial and armaments group. Under the Škoda brand, an ambitious investment programme, introducing assembly line production, transferring cutting-edge technologies and rolling out a new wave of models began to transform the company’s fortunes. 

The history of the Pilsen-based engineering company dates back to 1859, and ten years later it was acquired by engineer Emil Škoda. Under his leadership, and carrying his name, the company grew into the largest industrial enterprise in Austria-Hungary and even collaborated with the carmaker Laurin & Klement. 

In the 1920s, both companies faced economic difficulties in the wake of the First World War and the collapse of traditional markets. In 1924, a devastating fire further damaged the L&K factory in Mladá Boleslav. Václav Laurin and Václav Klement therefore decided to seek a strong strategic partner.

At that time, L&K employed 1,125 people, while Škoda Plzeň had more than 30,000 employees. However, its automotive output was limited, focusing mainly on the licensed production of British Sentinel steam lorries and Hispano-Suiza luxury cars. Unlike other options considered, the merger with Škoda Plzeň guaranteed the continuation of independent automotive development and production in Mladá Boleslav.

On 20 July 1925, the general meetings of both companies approved the merger, with shares exchanged at a ratio of 2:1 (L&K/Škoda). The decisive date came on 12 September 1925, when the Ministry of the Interior granted its approval. The Mladá Boleslav carmaker emerged from the merger significantly stronger – a resilience soon put to the test by the looming 1930s global economic crisis. 

Although Laurin & Klement was officially taken off the Commercial Register that marked it as an independent manufacturer, the rights to the legendary brand – including its iconic Art Nouveau logo – remain with Škoda. Customers find it on Škoda’s highest trim levels, a tradition that began in 1995 with the Škoda Felicia.

The numbers tell the story: a century ago, 1,800 employees produced 833 cars. In 1991, 16,974 Škoda staff built 172,074 cars. Last year, Škoda, with a global workforce of around 40,000 they built more than 926,000 vehicles. 

Words by Mark Slack