Extended responsibility

Our environmental considerations extend beyond the production stage of a vehicle. The same attention we pay to the quality, fuel efficiency, safety and user comfort of a car is dedicated to its environmental impact throughout its life cycle, encompassing development, production, use and final recycling of the end-of-life product, i.e. from the cradle to the grave.

And it is precisely at the end of a car’s life-cycle that we need to ensure that the worn-out car and its parts are not left lying around the countryside, where dangerous substances (such as oil) could leak and threaten the environment. A car and the materials it is made of can be used to make new products, creating a “Closed-Loop Economy” or “Circular Economy”. Apart from making financial savings, this also decreases resource dependence and, above all, reduces the impact the industry has on the environment.

If you want to dispose of your old, worn-out car through an authorised end-of-life vehicle process, pop in to a Škoda Auto authorised retailer (sales or service partner) and ask about the possibility of disposing of your car for free through our approved providers.

The other end-of-life products we can take care of for you are tyres, electronic devices, and starter and portable batteries and accumulators. Authorised retailers will accept these parts from you as part of the take-back service or advise you where they can be disposed of free of charge.

Škoda Auto also considers how parts replaced during repairs, take-back products and end-of-life vehicles are handled. When selecting waste management providers, we consider their ability to support the re-use and recovery of materials, including waste and secondary raw materials.

All Škoda Auto models are certified in line with European Directive 2005/64/EC, which sets out requirements for materials, parts labelling and recycling quotas. Under these requirements, a minimum of 85% of a vehicle’s mass must be reusable and/or recyclable, with a minimum of 95% reusable and/or recoverable.

What does “recycling” actually mean?

Recycling involves processing waste materials so they can be used again instead of relying solely on primary resources, such as crude oil, wood or iron ore. Where suitable processes are available, recovered materials can partially or completely replace primary resources in certain applications.

The rate of material re-use is therefore one of the criteria considered when selecting companies to collect and process waste generated by our service partners and in production.

One example is the handling of tyres collected through the authorised Škoda service network as part of the take-back system. Previously, worn-out tyres were commonly used as fuel in cement works. Škoda Auto works with a partner company that is able to recycle collected tyres and re-use up to 100% of the recycled material.

Recycled tyre material can be used in applications such as rubber surfaces and other products, giving recovered material an opportunity to be used again.