ŠKODA students build an electric "buggy" as a bet on the future

Electric mobility is the future, and it seems brands want to bet heavily on it. So it is no surprise that students at the ŠKODA Vocational School have chosen an electric vehicle for the test they carry out every year, that is, designing a prototype in which they apply everything they have learned during the academic year. It is a project in which 22 of the 900 students who study at this institution, promoted by the Czech brand, have taken part, and which has borne fruit in the form of an electric “buggy“.

This prototype is called ŠKODA ELEMENT. It was developed by these students, who are between 17 and 18 years old and come from the different specialties taught at the institution. Thus, there are students specialising in bodywork, painting, electrics, mechanics and logistics, who have thrown themselves into the design and manufacture of the prototype.

The students based the project on the ŠKODA Citigo, from which they removed the roof and doors, leaving the sides open. To choose this type of car, the students say they looked at the future of mobility, which they place in the manufacture of electric cars free of polluting emissions. So the model has been redesigned as an electric car that allows free movement, especially around the city, and with that connection to leisure time and nature that this type of vehicle has.

The work began in autumn 2016, when they chose the model to transform and began working on the design. First they did it on paper and transferred those designs to computers, and finally they began working on the model itself, using the necessary tools. In the end it took some 1,500 hours of work, with the support of specialists from the related departments, such as the Bodywork Workshop, Design and Technical Development.

This project has been under development since 2014, when the students developed a two-seater version of the Citigo. In 2015 the car presented was a pick-up based on the ŠKODA Fabia, and last year it was a coupé version of the ŠKODA RAPID SPACEBACK. Thanks to these projects, the company helps train these young engineers, who, once they finish their training, will be able to contribute their experience to ŠKODA, giving back everything they have learned to the brand.