Škoda Auto a.s. (Czech pronunciation: [ˈʃkoda] ), often shortened to Škoda, is a Czech automobile manufacturer established in 1925 as the successor to Laurin & Klement and headquartered in Mladá Boleslav, Czech Republic. Škoda Works became state owned in 1948. After 1991, it was gradually privatized to the German multinational conglomerate Volkswagen Group, becoming a partial subsidiary in 1994 and a wholly owned subsidiary in 2000.

Škoda automobiles are sold in over 100 countries, and in 2018, total global sales reached 1.25 million units, an increase of 4.4% from the previous year.[6] The operating profit was €1.6 billion in 2017, an increase of 34.6% over the previous year. As of 2017, Škoda's profit margin was the second-highest of all Volkswagen AG brands after Porsche.

History
The Škoda Works was founded by Czech engineer Emil von Škoda in 1859 in Plzeň, then in the Kingdom of Bohemia, Austrian Empire, and was originally an arms manufacturer. It was one of the largest European industrial conglomerates in the 20th century, and is the predecessor of today's Škoda Auto, Doosan Škoda Power and Škoda Transportation companies.