130 Years of IVECO: A Journey from Vysoké Mýto to the Forefront of Europe

When Josef Sodomka set up his wheelwright’s workshop in Vysoké Mýto in 1895, he could hardly have imagined that 130 years later the same site would be marking not just a factory’s anniversary but a milestone in European bus manufacturing. In the same year that IVECO celebrates its 50th birthday, this Czech plant stands as a living chronicle of an entire industry - full of trials, setbacks and triumphs.

Vysoké Mýto is the largest bus factory in Europe, with an annual output capacity of 5,000 vehicles. If you plan to explore the site on foot, bring a bicycle — it sprawls across 355,000 square metres. The models built here account for 42% of the Czech bus market and transport passengers in 25 countries from Asia to Africa.

The plant’s flagship is the CROSSWAY, now also available as an electric variant. It also produces the EVADYS - a perfect middle ground for those whose routes fall somewhere between a city commute and a tourist excursion.

But this is not just a tale of machines. Vysoké Mýto provides work for over 4,400 people, with another 1,700 employed through suppliers. The site embodies over a century of industrial innovation — from the welding frames and pneumatic clamps of 1958 to the electric platforms of 2023.

Its list of iconic models rivals a transport museum: the Škoda 706 RTO, the Karosa T 500 HB, the LC 757 HD 12. And of course the CROSSWAY, introduced in 2006, which has since earned the “Sustainable Bus of the Year” title four times. One in two intercity buses sold in Europe today is a CROSSWAY.

And it all began with a carpenter who made wheels. Today, his legacy powers a carousel spinning resolutely toward the future. Vysoké Mýto isn’t just marking dates — it’s marking the power to move people forward. Quite literally.