Which country is home to the carmaker Škoda?

Škoda is a carmaker from the Czech Republic. Its headquarters and main historic base are in Mladá Boleslav, a city northeast of Prague, making the Czech Republic the single canonical answer.

The company began in 1896 when Václav Laurin and Václav Klement established a bicycle business that expanded into motorcycles and automobiles under the Laurin & Klement name. In 1925, Laurin & Klement joined the Škoda Works, an industrial company founded by Emil Škoda.

Škoda became state-owned after the communist takeover of Czechoslovakia, then was gradually privatized after the 1989 Velvet Revolution. Volkswagen increased its stake during the 1990s and made Škoda Auto a wholly owned subsidiary in 2000.

A common mix-up is confusing Škoda’s Czech origin with Slovakia or Poland, where the company has also operated factories and sold many vehicles. The brand is Czech, while its parent company is Germany’s Volkswagen Group.