| Václav Laurin | |
| Birth Date: | 16 October 1865 |
| Birth Place: | Kamení, Austrian Empire |
| Death Place: | Prague, Czechoslovakia |
| Nationality: | Czech |
| Occupation: | Engineer, industrialist, automotive pioneer |
Václav Laurin (16 October 1865, Kamení near Pěnčín – 3 December 1930, Prague) was a Czech engineer, industrialist and automotive pioneer who, along with Václav Klement, founded automobile manufacturer Laurin & Klement that later became today's Škoda Auto.
He apprenticed as a locksmith in Mladá Boleslav, where, in 1895, he and Václav Klement founded the company Laurin & Klement (now Škoda Auto). At the beginning of December 1895, the mechanic Václav Laurin and the book-seller Václav Klement, both bicycle enthusiasts, started manufacturing bicycles of their own design, patriotically named Slavia in the nationalist atmosphere of the end of the 19th century.[1] In 1905, Laurin manufactured their first automobile. Today, the company enjoys worldwide popularity under the brand Škoda Auto.
Laurin was prominently engaged in the automobile company Laurin & Klement, together with his collaborator Václav Klement, co-founder of the company. He participated in the construction of vehicles there. In his later years, he was the technical director of Škoda Auto.[2]