Škoda Transportation a.s. is a Czech manufacturer of rolling stock and vehicles for public transport, headquartered in Plzeň. Its products include trams, electric multiple units, metro trains and trolleybuses. Its modern rolling-stock families include the ForCity trams and RegioPanter electric multiple units.
The company originated from the transportation-engineering operations of Škoda Works in Plzeň in 1920. Following the privatization and restructuring after the Velvet Revolution, the current company was established in 1995. It was formerly part of the same conglomerate as Škoda Auto and Doosan Škoda Power.
Škoda Transportation has been owned by PPF Group since 2018.
History The company was entered into the Commercial Register on 1 March 1995 as Škoda Dopravni Technika s. r. o., operating under the name Škoda Transportation s.r.o. from 10 December 2004 and since 1 April 2009 in its current legal form as a joint stock company.World In Brief International Railway Journal February 2005 page 6 Between 1995 and 2001, Škoda Transportation was owned by ŠKODA a. s. (Company ID No. 00213101) and then from 2003 on by ŠKODA HOLDING a. s. (Company ID No. 26163632, formerly Divide et impera a.s.). In 2006 Škoda Holding was dissolved through merger by acquisition with HQU International, a.s. (Company ID No. 26502399), which was later renamed Škoda Holding (and subsequently renamed ŠKODA INVESTMENT a.s. in 2010).
In 2003, the parent company Škoda Holding was purchased by Appian Group, a company based in the Netherlands with an unclear ownership structure. They initiated restructuring of the company with the aim of focusing on only two main fields of production - conventional power generation and transportation engineering. In 2004, Škoda JS, Škoda Kovárny and Škoda Hutě were sold off, followed in 2009 by Škoda Power, leaving Škoda Holding nothing more than an empty shell. Škoda Transportation itself acquired several companies in the transport sector and established itself as the main pillar of the group, drawing up consolidated financial statements for the first time in 2010 and achieving consolidated sales of CZK 12.1 billion.Výroční zpráva 2011 ve sbírce listin obchodního rejstříku u Krajského soudu v Plzni - listina B 1491/SL 109
In 2010, ŠKODA HOLDING a.s. (Company ID No. 28423518, formerly BTY Czech, a.s.) became the owner of Škoda Transportation, followed in 2011 by SKODA INDUSTRY (EUROPE) with registered office in Cyprus, which was renamed CEIL (CENTRAL EUROPE INDUSTRIES) LTD in 2013. In November 2017, PPF Group signed a contract to acquire a 100 % stake in Škoda Transportation and other assets, among others the Škoda registered trademark. The final price was made public in June 2018 and amounted to € 326 million, which is the equivalent of CZK 8.3 billion using the exchange rate in April 2018.
In June 2022, the parent group PPF announced that it had sold the rights to the Škoda logo and brand to Škoda Auto, whereas the Plzeň-based company is allowed to use the current name under licence until 2029. The news portal Seznam Zprávy reported in December 2023 that, according to Škoda Transportation’s annual report and information from other sources, it concluded that the undisclosed purchase price for the Škoda logo and brand was at least CZK 4 billion.
2010201120122013201420152016201720182019202020212022assets(bil. Kč)26,125,724,924,423,923,923,023,623,224,227,525,835,3revenue (bil. Kč)12,115,715,314,616,418,317,711,811,611,39,711,115,2EBIT (bil. Kč)3,94,13,82,13,21,82,30,93,90,40,31,11,2net income (bil. Kč)3,33,43,11,82,30,61,60,30,3 -0,4 -1,40,63,5dividend paid (bil. Kč)4,56,22,93,01,55,01,2000001,5
Owners In April 2010, ŠKODA HOLDING a.s. (Company ID No. 28423518, formerly BTY Czech, a.s.) became the owner of Škoda Transportation. On 20 September 2010, it was announced that Škoda Transportation had been sold by Appian Group to four individuals, these being two managers from Appian (Marek Čmejla and Jiří Diviš) and two managers from Škoda Holding (Tomáš Krsek and Michal Korecký). The likely new owners announced that they were considering listing the company’s shares on the stock exchange. According to some media reports, this was merely a formality, as these owners had long controlled the Appian Group subsidiary. In November 2011, Jaromír Šilhánek, director of the subsidiary Škoda Electric, joined the ranks of the shareholders, and the company acquired three more shareholders in 2012. The first was Josef Bernard, who started at Škoda as a technician and later became the director of Škoda Transportation, and the other two were Marek Krsek and Tomáš Ignačák, associated mainly with Pars nova. Michal Kurtinec became the ninth shareholder in 2014. In January 2015, Josef Bernard was replaced by Tomáš Ignačák. Petr Brzezina was appointed CEO after takeover of the company by PPF Group.
From March 2011, the sole shareholder of Škoda Transportation entered in the Commercial Register was Skoda Industry (Europe) which was supposed to have been controlled by the above-mentioned owners. It was, however, owned by Maranex Finance, a company registered in the Marshall Islands and Conitor Terra, a company registered in Guernsey. Skoda Industry (Europe) was renamed CEIL (Central Europe Industries) in 2013. Škoda Transportation paid dividends totalling over CZK 16 billion to its unknown owners between 2010 and 2013. In 2015, 98.75 % of the shares of the sole shareholder were indirectly held by Tomáš Krsek, Michal Korecký, Marek Čmejla and Jiří Diviš. The company has several long-term loan agreements with its sole shareholder and in 2015, the company owed this shareholder CZK 2 billion at an interest rate of 10 % p. a.
Chinese rolling stock manufacturer CRRC Zhuzhou Locomotive (中车株洲电力机车有限公司), a subsidiary of the Chinese CRRC Corporation Limited (中国中车股份有限公司), was interested in purchasing Škoda Transportation for a long time. According to the then Minister of Industry Jan Mládek, this potential buyer demanded a guarantee that the privatisation of Škoda Transportation had been performed in an incontestable manner, which he refused to provide. Later, Siemens made a bid for Škoda Transportation and there was speculation that the Energetický a průmyslový holding group was interested in buying it. The contract for purchase of shares in Škoda Transportation and related assets was in the end concluded by PPF Group in November 2017. The transaction was finalised in April 2018 for a total amount of EUR 326 million. On 7 May 2019, PPF Group announced that it had sold its 10 % stake in Škoda Transportation. The price was not disclosed.
Products
Trams
In the field of trams, Škoda Dopravní technika modernised a total of 26 Tatra T3 trams operated in Plzeň to type T3M.0 (factory designation Škoda 01T; 1993-1999) and 20 T3 trams operated in Liberec to type T3M.04 (factory designation Škoda 02T; 1995-1999) in the 1990s. In 1997, the company produced its first own tram, the Škoda 03T (also LTM 10.08, “Astra”, “Anitra”), which was gradually delivered to five Czech tram operators until 2006.
This was followed by other types, some of which were also exported. The latest models of trams are supplied under the trade name Škoda ForCity, which the company delivers to several European countries. In the Czech Republic, they have been delivered to Brno (Škoda 45T - from 2022), Plzeň (Škoda 40T - from 2021), Ostrava (Škoda 39T - from 2021) and Prague (Škoda 15T - 2009-2019 and Škoda 52T).
Germany became the second most important market for trams after 2020. The Škoda Group has delivered trams to the Saxonian city of Chemnitz (35T, ForCity Classic, 2018–2020), to the three cities of Mannheim, Ludwigshafen am Rhein and Heidelberg (36T, 37T, 38T, all ForCity Smart, since 2022), Bonn (41T, ForCity Smart, since 2023) and to the three cities of Frankfurt an der Oder, Cottbus and Brandenburg an der Havel (46T, 47T, 48T, ForCity Plus, since 2024). Preparations are also underway for production of trams for Kassel (50T, ForCity Smart).
Škoda trams also operate in the Finnish cities of Helsinki (Artic, ForCity Smart, 2013-2019; Artic X54, ForCity Smart, from 2021) and Tampere (Artic X34, ForCity Smart, 2020-2021), and Miskolc in Hungary (26T, from 2013 to 2015). In 2024, the Škoda Group delivered two-way trams to the Slovakian city of Bratislava (30T, ForCity Plus).
Metro trains
Škoda Transportation modernised the 81-71 metro trains to type 81-71M for the Prague Metro between 1996 and 2011. In 2003 it produced a prototype of the new 6Mt metro train. The company also participated in production and modernisation of 81-553 trains for Kazan and Kyiv (the Slavutych train) and participated in the production of NěVa trains for St. Petersburg. At the beginning of 2020, the company signed a contract for delivery of metro trains to Warsaw. The first metro train from the workshops of the Škoda Group will begin carrying passengers in the Polish capital in October 2022. Another contract which has been signed is for delivery of eight metro trains to the Bulgarian city of Sofia. This was signed in July 2023.
Railway vehicles Škoda Transportation produced type 109E electric locomotives (series 380 ČD, 381 ZSSK and 102 DB Regio) and modernised 71E electric locomotives to type 71Em (series 163 → series 363.5 ČD Cargo). In the field of rail transport, the company was not planning any new locomotive type in 2020, instead focusing on the development and production of RegioPanter and InterPanter electric units.
In the field of rail transport, production by the Škoda Group shifted from locomotives to other types of rail units. Production of these can be divided into two broad categories:
Push-Pull Units, i.e. non-traction units with a control car, which need a locomotive to move, have been operating in Slovakia since 2011 (factory designation 3Ev) and in Germany and the Czech Republic since 2021 (factory designation 13Ev)
Within the portfolio of the Škoda Group, electric units (EMUs) bear the designation RegioPanter (for regional operation) or InterPanter (for longer-distance transport). The first RegioPanter EMU was designated type 7Ev. This was put into trial operation in September 2012 and in February 2013, units from this series were approved by the Railway Authority. In the Czech Republic, RegioPanter units operate in the Plzeň, South Moravian, Moravian-Silesian, Olomouc, Hradec Králové, Pardubice, Ústí nad Labem and Central Bohemian regions.
Abroad, EMUs are delivered to Slovakia and Latvia. The first units are expected to be deployed in Estonia in 2024 and deliveries of trains to Uzbekistan are also planned.
Another rail transport sector in which the Škoda Group is involved is sleeper carriages. In this area, the sleeper project for the Finnish State Railways VR Group was the furthest along in 2024. Their deployment is planned by 2025 at the latest. Italian railway carrier Trenitalia has ordered sleeper carriages from the Škoda Group. The category of sleeper cars also includes a contract for modernisation of cars for the Austrian carrier ÖBB.
Locomotive factory As a part of its shift towards non-military production, the Works earmarked a portion of its facilities for manufacturing of locomotives.Diestler, p. 23 The production started following an order for 30 locomotives for Czechoslovakia. The first Škoda locomotive left the factory on 11 June 1920. Meanwhile, Škoda gained a major contract for production of 80 and refurbishment of 500 locomotives for Romania. Due to the Romanian order Škoda regained banks' confidence which provided the company with financing to survive through the immediate post-war years. The locomotive factory became one of the company's main pillars.