Editing Škoda Auto (section)

===Laurin & Klement===
{{Main|Laurin & Klement}}
[[File:Laurin & Klement founders 1895.jpg|thumbnail|Founders [[Václav Klement]] (left) and [[Václav Laurin]] (1895)]]
[[File:12-01-11-autostadt-wolfsburg-by-RalfR-301.jpg|thumbnail|[[Laurin & Klement]] Type A (1905)]]

As with many long-established [[automotive industry|car manufacturers]], the company that became Škoda Auto started by manufacturing bicycles.<ref>Piotr S. Wandycz, 'The Price of Freedom: A History of East Central Europe from the Middle Ages to The Present', (London, 1992), p. 171</ref> Škoda (then Laurin & Klement) was founded in 1896 as a [[velocipede]] manufacturer.<ref name="nkp1905">{{cite web |title=Český průmyslový svět – 1905 |url= https://ndk.cz/uuid/uuid:9ee4d9f0-6a7a-11e4-9d98-005056825209 |website=Digital library of the National Library ČR}}</ref>

In {{start date and age|df=yes|1894|paren=y}}, 26-year-old [[Václav Klement]] (1868–1938), who was a bookseller in [[Mladá Boleslav]], Kingdom of Bohemia (today's Czech Republic, then part of [[Austria-Hungary]]), was unable to obtain spare parts to repair his German bicycle. Klement returned his bicycle to the manufacturers, Seidel and Naumann, with a letter, in Czech, asking them to carry out repairs, only to receive a reply, in German: "If you want us to answer you, we insist that you convey your message in a language we understand."<ref>{{Cite book|title=Škoda. A Car That Made History|last=Jetschgo|first=Johannes|publisher=Vitalis|year=2019|isbn=978-3-89919-652-8|location=Prague|pages=8–9}}</ref> Not satisfied with the reply and realizing the business potential, Klement, despite having no technical experience, decided to start a bicycle repair shop, which he and Václav Laurin opened in 1896 in Mladá Boleslav. Before going into partnership with Klement, Laurin had been an established bicycle manufacturer in the nearby town of [[Turnov]].<ref>{{Cite book|title=Škoda. A Car That Made History|last=Jetschgo|first=Johannes|publisher=Vitalis|year=2019|isbn=9783899196528|location=Prague|pages=9}}</ref>

In 1898, after moving to their newly built factory, the pair bought a [[Werner Motors|Werner "Motocyclette"]].<ref group=nb>More information about the Werner motor bicycles: {{cite web |last=Twycross |first=Tony |title=Auto Cycling, 1890s Style |publisher=The Moped Archive |date=April 2005 |url= http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~pattle/nacc/arc0556.htm}}</ref> Laurin & Klement's first motorcyclette, powered by an engine mounted on the handlebars driving the front wheels, proved dangerous and unreliable – an early accident on it cost Laurin a front tooth. To design a safer machine with its structure around the engine, the pair wrote to German ignition specialist [[Robert Bosch]] for advice on a different electromagnetic system.{{citation needed|date=April 2019}} Their new Slavia motorcycle made its debut in 1899, and the company became the first motorcycle factory in [[Central Europe]].<ref name="nkp1905" /> In 1900, with a company workforce of 32, Slavia exports began and 150 machines were shipped to [[London]] for the Hewtson firm. Shortly afterwards, the press credited them as makers of the first motorcycle.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.classiccar4you.com/classic-cars-gallery/?album=744&gallery=1206&pid=11691 |title= Skoda Works |publisher= classiccar4you |access-date= 22 September 2016 |archive-date= 20 December 2019 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20191220043340/http://www.classiccar4you.com/classic-cars-gallery/?album=744&gallery=1206&pid=11691 |url-status= dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.carautoportal.com/skoda/ |title=Skoda Company History |publisher=CarAutoPortal.com |access-date=10 August 2009 |archive-date=21 December 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101221115013/http://www.carautoportal.com/skoda/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

By 1905, the firm was manufacturing automobiles, making it the second-oldest car manufacturer in the [[Czech lands]] after Tatra. The company, with an area of {{convert|7800|m2|ha}}, had a workforce of 320 and used 170 special machine tools, power-driven by {{convert|100|hp}} of steam power.<ref name="nkp1905"/> The first model, Voiturette A, was a success, and the company was established both within Austria-Hungary and internationally.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Skoda {{!}} Dezo's Garage|url=https://www.xr793.com/skoda|language=en-US|access-date=2020-05-29}}</ref>