Batteries

Škoda Auto Builds Its Own Batteries 

No electric car can move without a battery. That is why it is so important for the carmaker that it assembles them directly in Mladá Boleslav.

Battery production at Škoda Auto is highly automated and reaches as much as 84% in the new M8 hall.

Škoda Auto produces high-voltage batteries at two facilities in Mladá Boleslav: in the new M8 hall on the other side of the motorway and in the M6 hall. The batteries go into Škoda brand cars as well as other VW Group electric cars built on the MEB platform. The Group developed this shared technical basis for electric cars, and other manufacturers use it too.

The carmaker started producing batteries in 2019 for plug-in hybrids. However, it no longer makes batteries for them and now focuses on fully electric cars. In early 2026, it expanded production significantly when it opened the M8 hall.

The total capacity of both facilities now exceeds 2,000 batteries a day. “However, we’re working on increasing capacity further and looking at various ways to achieve this,” says Jan Houser, battery assembly coordinator at GS5. One option is to use the space in the M6 hall where manual gearboxes used to be assembled. Another line is already being prepared there, which will increase battery production capacity. “We have trained and qualified staff. Many employees from gearbox production, for example, have moved to battery production,” adds Houser.

With a capacity of 2,000 batteries a day, Mladá Boleslav has become the largest European producer of battery systems for electric cars in the VW Group.

The future belongs to the cell-to-pack method

In the early years of electromobility, batteries made up of modules were the standard. These are still produced in the M6 hall today: the modules come from suppliers and are turned into finished battery packs in Mladá Boleslav. In the M8 hall, however, the batteries are already assembled directly from individual cells, without conventional modules. This method is called cell-to-pack, which loosely means “from the cell straight into the battery”. It makes better use of the space inside the battery, so more energy fits into the same volume. Experts call this higher energy density. However, production using this method needs more space in the hall because the individual cells are processed first and only then assembled into complete packs.

LFP or NMC?

A battery’s properties depend on its chemistry. The NMC (nickel-manganese-cobalt) batteries that have been standard until now have a slightly higher energy density, but they need more rare materials. LFP (lithium‑iron‑phosphate) batteries, which have become more common in electric cars in recent years, work with more widely available raw materials. Their high thermal stability makes LFP batteries very safe and reliable in everyday use. The two types also behave differently when charging. LFP technology benefits from a flatter charging curve and a stable charging process, while NMC batteries usually allow higher peak charging power. Each solution has its own advantages, and the carmaker will continue to produce both types to meet customer needs and market requirements.