Skoda lays foundation for new paint shop

Skoda Auto has started to lay the foundations for a new advanced paint shop at its Mlada Boleslav site.

The new paint shop is set to open come 2029 and is set to have a capacity of 1,600 units, raising the firm's total daily painting capacity at the site to 2,600 units. The new facility is said to stretch 301m in length, span 131m wide and stand at 32.5m tall, and offer a total floor area of 118,000sqm, while housing a conveyor system that extends a total of 15km.

Skoda states that the new paint shop will make extensive use of automation and robotics to enhance the quality of each protective coating applied. The shop is further able to paint vehicles on both electric and internal combustion platforms and will be able to apply two-tone paint work and matte finishes. The new shop is also set to reduce the total volatile organic compounds emitted at the Mlada Boleslav site while cutting its CO₂ emissions from painting process by 28%.

Mlada Boleslav currently operates two paint shops, with the original, opened since 1996, set to be replaced by this latest paint shop. The new site will augment the operations of Skoda's second paint shop, which begun operations since 2019.