Final Word from Wednesday, April 13, 2016

It's already April 2016, and Škoda Auto is celebrating its 25th birthday as part of the Volkswagen family. Škoda accounts for about 5% of Czech GDP and has increased its annual production, including licensing in China and Russia, by a factor of five since 1991, to 1.06m vehicles. No one has really noticed that Škoda is lagging far beyond the goal set by ex-Chair Winfried Vahland of sales of 1.5m by 2018. Nor has anyone really noticed that Vahland was, indirectly, one of the top victims of the emissions-cheating scandal. Škoda has in fact weathered that scandal far better than VW itself, partly due to the supportive attitude of Transport Min. Dan Ťok and Industry Min. Jan Mládek. While sales of VW cars are plummeting in the U.S. and VW managers are being dragged through the press in Germany for receiving high bonuses, Škoda is throwing a party to celebrate its many successes. Škoda is already a dream job for people in technical fields, marketing and even for lawyers. It's probably time for it also to be recognized as an absolute leader in crisis PR. [Czech Republic public relations minister dieselgate]