handlebars driving the front wheels, proved dangerous and unreliable – an early accident on it cost Laurin a front tooth. To design a safer machine with its structure around the engine, the pair wrote to German ignition specialist Robert Bosch for advice on a different electromagnetic system. Their new Slavia motorcycle made its debut in 1899, and the company became the first motorcycle factory in Central Europe. In 1900, with a company workforce of 32, Slavia exports began and 150 machines were shipped to London for the Hewtson firm. Shortly afterwards, the press credited them as makers of the first motorcycle. By 1905, the firm was manufacturing automobiles, making it the second-oldest car manufacturer in the Czech lands after Tatra. The company, with an area of , had a workforce of 320 and used 170 special machine tools, power-driven by of steam power. The first model, Voiturette A, was a success, and the company was established both within Austria-Hungary and internationally. Škoda After World War I, the Laurin & Klement company began producing trucks, but in 1924, after running into problems and being affected by a fire on their premises, the company sought a new partner. Meanwhile, Akciová společnost, dříve Škodovy závody (Limited Company, formerly the Škoda Works), an arms manufacturer and multisector concern in Plzeň, which had become one of the largest industrial enterprises in Europe and the largest in Czechoslovakia, sought to enlarge its nonarms-manufacturing base, so acquired Laurin & Klement in 1925. It also started manufacturing cars in cooperation with Hispano-Suiza. Most of the later production took place under Škoda's name. An assembly line was used for production from 1930 onwards. In the same year, a formal spin-off of the car manufacture into a new company, Akciová společnost pro automobilový průmysl or abbreviated ASAP, took place. ASAP remained a wholly owned subsidiary of the Škoda Works, and continued to sell cars under the Škoda marque. Apart from the factory in Mladá Boleslav, it included also the firm's representation, sales offices, and services, as well as a central workshop in Prague. At the time, the car factory in Mladá Boleslav covered an area of 215,000 m2 and employed 3,750 blue-collar and 500 white-collar workers. After a decline caused by the economic depression, Škoda introduced a new line of cars in the 1930s, which significantly differed from its previous products. A new design of chassis with backbone tube and