Prestigious award for ŠKODA AUTO CEO: Prof. Dr. h. c. Winfried Vahland receives this year’s Art Award for understanding between the German and Czech nations. This renowned award honours Vahland’s contribution to economic cooperation between Germany and the Czech Republic. The award ceremony took place yesterday in the presence of high-ranking personalities from business and politics of both countries at the Wallenstein Palace in Prague.
“I feel very honoured to receive the Art Award,” says Vahland in his acceptance speech. “I also take this honour as an award for my ŠKODA colleagues across the whole world. Without our employees, ŠKODA’s success would not have been possible.” Vahland has been the CEO of the Czech car maker since September 2010. Between 2002 and 2005, he served as ŠKODA AUTO member of the board responsible for Commercial Affairs, including two years as Vice Chairman.
The Art Award, bestowed since 1994 for understanding between the German and Czech nations is presented jointly by the Munich Adalbert Stifter Association, the Union for Good Partnership of Czech and German Speaking Countries, the Brücke-Most-Foundation, the Collegium Bohemicum, the Prague House of Literature of German-speaking Authors, and the International Art Association pro arte vivendi. German and Czech individuals who are committed to improving the cooperation between the two countries are honoured. Besides Vahland, Rudolf Jindrák, the Czech Ambassador to Germany will also be honoured in this year’s ceremony. Previous dignitaries include well-known figures, such as the 2011 late Czech politician Jiří Dienstbier and the German former Federal President Richard von Weizsäcker. For this pure Art Award, two artists of Czech and German roots have each donated one of their own works to each of the award winners from the other country.
Vahland emphasizes the importance of a united Europe for the peaceful coalescence between East and West and positive economic development: “Europe creates peace and prosperity. For us, as part of the Volkswagen Group, and for me at ŠKODA AUTO, that is a commitment and an admonition to advance the fortunes of ŠKODA with great responsibility,” he adds. “ŠKODA’s success reveals that Germans and Czechs are able to create something quite special. And I must also add that we have become friends as well.”
The Czech carmaker plans to grow further in the coming years. By 2018, ŠKODA intends to increase worldwide sales to at least 1.5 million vehicles per year. The company’s most comprehensive model campaign in corporate history is at the heart of the 2018 growth strategy. In this year alone, the Czechs will be presenting eight new or revised models. In addition to developing international growth markets, ŠKODA continues to expand their position in Europe and in the Czech home market. For this purpose, the manufacturer is investing heavily in their Czech sites. In 2012 alone, the company’s capital investments increased by around 46% percent to a new high of EUR 832 million, much of it on measures in the Czech Republic.
Currently one of the largest investments in development in the Czech Republic is the construction of a new powertrain centre – around EUR 34 million will be spent on this measure alone. ŠKODA is the only car manufacturer that both produces and develops in the Czech Republic. The headquarters in Mladá Boleslav have been extensively expanded and modernized for the production of the ŠKODA Rapid / Rapid Spaceback and the new ŠKODA Octavia. The ŠKODA Vrchlabí plant has been rebuilt in collaboration with the Volkswagen Group into a new Czech high-tech centre, where modern DSG-direct shift gearboxes are produced both for ŠKODA and other VW Group brands.
The number of awards received demonstrates the company’s outstanding importance for the Czech and Central European economies. The ‘Deloitte CEE TOP 500’ currently ranks ŠKODA as the largest production company in Central and Eastern Europe. The manufacturer has won the ‘Czech Top 100’ for the 16th time. The award ‘Investor of the past two decades’ from the Czech Ministry of Trade and Industry is recognition of ŠKODA’s high levels of investment. Since 1991, approximately EUR 7 billion have been invested in restructuring the company. ŠKODA’s most recent award is the Czech ‘Rhodos’ Image Award– bestowing the carmaker the title of Best Image in the non-food-product category.
ŠKODA AUTO employs around 26,400 people worldwide, including 25,000 people in the Czech Republic. Over the past two years, the company has created around 2,000 new jobs.
Prof. Dr. h. c. Winfried Vahland
Winfried Vahland was born in Germany on 1 April 1957. He graduated from the Technical University of Darmstadt, majoring in mechanical engineering and economics. He completed his degree in business administration at the General Motors Institute in Michigan, USA.
In 1984 Vahland began his career in the automotive industry at Opel, moving to Audi in 1990 and to Volkswagen AG in 1993. From 1997, Vahland was working for VW in Brazil. In 2002, he was elected to the ŠKODA Board of Directors and in 2003 became the Executive Vice Chairman. From 2005, he worked for Volkswagen in China, most recently as the Vice President of Volkswagen AG. He received an honorary doctorate from the University of Economics in Prague in January, 2006. In the July of 2006, Vahland was granted honorary citizenship of the city of Changchun. In November, 2007, Shanghai Tongji University appointed him Advisory Professor.
Prof. Dr. h. c. Winfried Vahland has been back in the Czech Republic since September, 2010 and currently leads ŠKODA AUTO a.s. as the company Chief Executive Officer.