Skoda Auto, more commonly known as Skoda, is an automobile manufacturer based in the Czech Republic. Company Skoda Works was established as an arms manufacturer in 1859, but did not develop automobiles. The origins of what became Skoda Auto go back to the early 1890s where, like many long-established car manufacturers, a company started out manufacturing bicycles in 1895 as "Laurin & Klement". Skoda became a subsidiary of the Volkswagen Group in 1991. Its total sales reached 684,226 cars in 2009.