Volkswagen Group’s Czech subsidiary is in charge of producing the new Ateca at its Kvasiny plant.

Unveiled a couple of weeks ago and with its public debut scheduled for Geneva, Seat’s first ever SUV will be joined in Kvasiny by the production version of the Skoda VisionS study.

The concept previews a 7-seat SUV, which will be underpinned by the same MQB platform as the Ateca and the of the new VW Tiguan. The model, which is known internally as the “Snowman” but will reportedly be dubbed the Kodiak, will help Skoda increase the plant’s annual capacity to 280,000 vehicles and create 1,300 new jobs over the next couple of years.

Skoda’s Kvasiny plant assembled roughly 150,000 vehicles last year, compared to 166,200 in 2014. The decline was caused by ceasing production of the Roomster and the switch from the second- to the third-gen Superb. The plant’s expansion will come after a CK7.2 billion ($297 million / €270 million) investment.

The manufacturer is supported by the region where the factory is located and by the local government, which are investing in transport infrastructure improvements and the creation of a supplier park close to the plant.

Via WardsAuto

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