In an ultra-competitive industry suffering from chronic overcapacity, just how has Skoda managed to become the UK's best-loved car? Pelle Neroth investigates. NOVEMBER 1989 was a happy month for most Czechs. The Velvet Revolution meant that millions could start travelling freely. But for the relatively well-paid management of Skoda, a kind of aristocracy of the socialist state, these were glum times. Because of the shortage of skilled labour that affected so many enterprises in socialist societies, Skoda employed many prisoners. They made up 90 per cent of the pressing plant, for instance. When they were freed during political amnesties in January 1990, it left a gaping hole in the factory's labour force: higher wages could not tempt them back. In one of the ironies of history, conscript soldiers were briefly ordered to fill their places but because they were less skilled, production remained far below demand and Skoda's debts, acquired in the 1980s, continued to grow.
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