Škoda Auto has opened a new automotive paint shop in the Czech Republic, with 66 industrial robots configured to apply the paint.

Up to 168,000 car bodies will be coated with paint there each year, taking the plant's total annual painting capacity up to 812,000 vehicles.

Škoda Auto has invested 214.5 million euros (US$236 million) in the new building, creating more than 650 new jobs.

The facility is one of the most cutting-edge and eco-friendliest of its kind in Europe.

Numerous production steps are undertaken or assisted by 66 industrial robots.

Robots are taking over numerous production steps. Innovative technologies mean that the ŠKODA employees' workstations have been given a particularly ergonomic design.

Bernhard Maier, Škoda Auto CEO said the new paint shop at its headquarters in Mladá Boleslav. is a key component of the company’s growth trajectory toward 2025.

“This allows us to increase our capacity and therefore meet the high customer demand much more effectively,” he said.

The new facility makes a considerable contribution toward strengthening the Czech Republic as an automotive hub.

The painting robots boast an innovative seventh rotational axis in their cantilever arm, meaning one robot can coat car bodies with a total surface area of up to 108 sqm. 

To put this in perspective, the average surface area of present-day passenger cars is 88 sqm.