Laurin & Klement / Škoda 120 Years of Success

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ŠKODA founding fathers: the bicycle mechanic Václav Laurin 

(left) and the bookseller Václav Klement founded the Laurin & 

Klement bicycle factory in 1895.

The company logo over the decades: in the early years Laurin & Klement 

sold bicycles and motorcycles under the brand name Slavia. In 1925, 

there was a successful merger with the Pilsen-based engineering 

company ŠKODA. The winged arrow has been used as a logo since the 

1930s. It symbolises speed and progress.

Successful around the world: 

the car manufacturer from Mladá 

Boleslav was soon to export all 

over the world. ŠKODA began 

assembly line production in 1930.

The ŠKODA Museum in Mladá Boleslav reminds 

in lively fashion of the history of the company, 

brand and models so steeped in tradition.

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For sport and health

In the genes:

enthusiasm for cycling

ŠKODA has a special relationship with cycling. 120 years 

ago  the  founding  fathers  Václav  Laurin  and  Václav 

Klement laid the foundations for the success of the 

company Laurin & Klement, which later merged with 

ŠKODA,  with  the  production  of  bicycles.  With  its 

comprehensive sponsorship commitments in cycling 

and  with  a  broad  bike  collection,  ŠKODA  is  today 

expressing  its  close  connection  to  mobility  on  two 

wheels in a very special way.

Laurin and Klement were mobility enthusiasts. As they 

were unable to find a bicycle they considered to be of 

good quality, they went to work their own in 1895. First 

they repaired and optimised bicycles. Their own pro-

duction was soon to follow. The bikes manufactured by 

Laurin and Klement were sold under the brand name 

‘Slavia’.

After just a short time, there were already five Slavia 

models on offer, including a lady’s bike and a hybrid 

bike. Step by step, the bicycle range was expanded. 

There were tandem bikes ‘for two gentlemen’ and 

‘for a gentleman and a lady’, children’s bikes for boys 

and girls, delivery tricycles and speciality bicycles with 

a drive shaft.

The products from Mladá Boleslav inspired people 

with innovative technology. For example, the bikes 

had tyres with an air-filled inner tube and valve. A Sla-

via model cost around two to three months’ wages of 

a Bohemian craftsman.

The high level of reliability and excellent-quality finish 

of the Slavia bicycles led to growing commercial suc-

cess. For quality control, comprehensive endurance 

tests were carried out before the sale. For example, 

this included tests where the wheels ‘were immersed 

in water three meters deep for 24 hours without any 

trace of water penetrating into the bearings’. The 

easy maintenance did also contribute to Slavia’s good 

reputation.

With growing success, the range continued to expand. 

In 1899, L&K presented the next milestone: a bicycle 

with an auxiliary motor, the so-called Motocyclette. 

The  first  motorcycle  achieved  a  top  speed  of  about 

30 km/h.

In 1901, the involvement in international motorsports 

began.  The  first  successes  were  quick  to  follow,  in-

cluding the triumph at the unofficial motorcycle world 

championship, the ‘Coupe International’ in Dourdan, 

France in 1905.

In the same year, L&K finally presented the company’s 

first automobile: the Voiturette A.

ŠKODA expresses its close connection to the bicycle 

in many ways today. Since 2004, the car manufacturer 

has supported the Tour de France, the most famous 

bicycle race in the world, as official sponsor and vehicle 

partner. There is also sponsorship of other renowned 

national and international cycling events as well as 

comprehensive involvement in cycling as a grassroots 

sport. The Czech Paralympic road cycling champion Jiří 

Ježek is also supported by ŠKODA.

The second pillar of ŠKODA’s sponsorship activities is 

ice hockey. ŠKODA has been an official main sponsor 

of the IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship since as 

early as 1992. That is the longest main sponsorship in 

the history of sport world championships.

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Václav Laurin and Václav Klement 

were passionate cyclists. Their 

enthusiasm led to the foundation 

of their own bicycle production; 

the bikes were given the patriotic 

brand name Slavia.

The ŠKODA bicycle collection 

ranges from children’s bikes to 

racing bikes, mountain bikes and 

trekking bikes, even including an 

electric bicycle.

Alongside cycling, ice hockey forms a central 

pillar of ŠKODA’s sponsorship. The company 

has been the official main sponsor of the IIHF 

Ice Hockey World Championship since 1992.

ŠKODA AUTO has been the main sponsor of the 

Czech Paralympics team since 2001 and supports 

the Czech disabled cyclist, Paralympic champion 

and world champion Jiří Ježek.

Supplying a large ŠKODA vehicle fleet has 

been the centrepiece of the Tour de France 

sponsorship since 2004.

The plant in Mladá 

Boleslav produced 

bicycles, motorcycles and 

other vehicles — all at 

the same time! Have you 

noticed that the girl ‘in full 

gear’ weighs just 63 kg 

even with the velocipede?

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