Škoda Auto a.s., commonly called Škoda, is a Czech automobile manufacturer founded in 1895 as Laurin & Klement and headquartered in Mladá Boleslav, Czech Republic. Skoda automobiles are sold in over 100 countries and in 2018, total global sales reached 1.25 million units, an increase of 4.4% from the previous year. As of 2017, Škoda's profit margin was the second highest of all VW Group brands after Porsche.