Information about cookies and similar technologies

and the related processing of personal information

Welcome to the Skoda Ireland website (“this Website”) which is operated by Volkswagen Group Ireland Limited (“we”, “our”, “us” or “Volkswagen Group Ireland Limited ” as applicable). Please see the end of this policy for our legal and contact information. We use cookies and other similar technologies that access or store information on the device you use to visit this Website. To make this policy easier to read, we refer to all of these technologies using the expression “cookies”. This policy provides you with information about how cookies work and when, how and why we, and the third parties we work with, use them. Almost all cookies work by collecting and storing some form of personal data about you, so this policy also describes the personal data we process or allow others to access when using cookies, as well as your related data protection rights. Our separate Privacy Statement provides equivalent information relating to our processing of your personal data more broadly in connection with this Website. We may update this policy from time to time. All changes made to this policy will be published on this Website and in the event of any substantial changes, we will notify you of these using an appropriate communication method.

1. Who is the controller of your personal data?

We set and read some cookies on your device in cooperation with Škoda Auto a.s. (“Škoda Auto”). Some cookies are set and read only by ourselves and some may be set by third parties such as our suppliers or our commercial partners. For the purposes of data protection laws, we and Škoda Auto are the “joint controllers” of the processing of your personal data for all of these cookies as described in Sections 5 and 6, unless this Cookie Policy expressly states that we are sole “controllers” of the processing of personal data in relation to certain cookies.
A controller is the person that decides why and how your personal data is processed. In relation to cookies set by third parties through this Website, those parties may also be a controller of your personal data, which means they will also have a legal responsibility to you in respect of the personal data they receive. Please see the section How we work with third parties and the legal reasons for processing for further details.

2. What are ‘cookies’?

Cookies are small files or other information stored on your device or accessed from your device that help us and others to collect data about your activities. The expression ‘cookies’ can refer to browser cookies as well as a number of similar technologies including tracking pixels/web beacons, local shared objects/flash cookies and access to device information (including sensors). Please see the section 5 for details of the types of ‘cookies’ used by this Website.

Cookies allow us to deliver essential features of this Website. We also use them for purposes which are not essential but very useful to us or to you, including to store your settings and preferences, remember your access information, provide targeted content and marketing communications, help us to understand which part of this Website is the most popular and analyse the functioning of this Website.

3. What types of personal information do we receive through cookies

We receive the following types of personal data about you through the cookies we use, which includes information we access directly from your computer, phone, tablet or other device without storing or accessing a file:

  • Cookie browser data: cookie identifiers, time/date, services/products selected, whether and to which cookies you have consented;
  • Device data: device type, screen resolution, operating system version, browser rendering core, its version and basic settings;
  • Log data: Time and duration of usage of this Website and search data;
  • Location data: Data about your country of access as proclaimed by your device;
  • Behavioural data: Data about your usage of this Website that we may process if you visit or use third party sites or applications to cooperate with us, and data on how you participate with the content of this Website (such as pages visited, if you came from a marketing campaign, button clicks, car configuration details etc.).

We may combine personal data about you or your activities with other information we receive from third parties or publicly available sources where this is permitted by law. Please see our general Privacy Statement for further details of the sources of information we may use.

4. Purposes for which we use cookies

Cookies are an extremely common technology for remembering certain information about how users interact with websites and use their devices. The vast majority of websites currently make use of cookies and they are commonly used for a wide range of reasons.

We, in cooperation with our other joint controller SKODA AUTO, use following categories of cookies:

Necessary cookies
These cookies help us ensure basic functions, such as ensuring the functionality and security of the Website, access to secure parts of the Website, fast loading the Website content, user authentication or recording whether you have granted us consent according to this policy, including storing user preferences on this Website during the session. Such cookies are necessary for the functioning of the Websites, and therefore we do not need your consent in order to store and read them.

Analytics
Based on your consent, we use cookies that are used to create statistics, monitor and analyse user behaviour on the Websites. The data helps us determine the popularity of individual feature pages and serves as a basis for improving the Websites.

Functions and preferences
With your consent, we use cookies that enable the use of advanced web content and advanced features and are used to store your preferences across our Websites. Thanks to these cookies, we can customize our Website according to your preferences, such as language and region settings.

Personalised offers
With your consent, we use cookies to show you personalized offers, content and advertisements based on your interests on this Website, on our other Websites, on third-party Websites and on social networks. With the help of these cookies, you can be informed about our products and services, events, competitions, newsletters, advertisements and catalogs. Thanks to the data you provide us with in this way, we can also provide you with tailored offers that will most closely match your interests.

The list of cookies assorted by purposes:

Other third-party cookies

Some of our Websites display content from external providers that also use cookies. This external content may use cookies over which we have no control. For information on how external providers use cookies, please refer to their respective cookie policies.

5. Your consent to use cookies and associated personal data:

Cookies and associated personal information used for necessary purposes
In accordance with data protection laws, we do not request your consent to use these cookies as they are necessary to ensure this Website works properly.

Cookies and associated personal information used for other than necessary purposes
We will only store or read cookies on your device for other than necessary cookies and process associated personal data (or allow our third party services providers and partners to do so) if you have given, and not withdrawn, your consent. We request this using the cookie tool that appears when you visit any page of this Website.

How to provide your consent for other than necessary cookies and associated personal data
When you visit this Website for the first time, you will be prompted with a request to provide your consent for other than necessary cookies and the personal data we receive as a result of their use. You can consent to all these cookies by selecting “Accept all” or refuse consent for all other than necessary cookies by selecting “Reject all”. Alternatively, you can choose to consent to cookies by their individual categories of purposes of use.
If you do not provide your consent for these cookies, we will not use them nor process any personal data in connection with them. Consequently, your provision of any personal data associated with the cookie is voluntary and you may withdraw your consent at any time. Any use of the cookie or associated personal data before you withdraw your consent will be valid and lawful. Please see the What are your rights? and How can you exercise your rights? sections below for further information regarding your data protection rights.

How to withdraw your consent for other than necessary cookies and the processing of associated personal data
You may withdraw consent you have previously provided for cookies by using the cookie tool we make available from this Website. You can access at any time the cookie tool from any page of this Website by clicking on the Manage Cookies button and withdraw your consent by setting the option for the relevant category of cookie to the off position.

What are the consequences of refusing/withdrawing your consent to cookies and the processing of associated personal data?
Any use of the cookies or related personal data prior to the withdrawal of your consent will be valid and lawful. However, despite refusing or withdrawing your consent, we will still use necessary cookies. If you refuse or withdraw consent, then the corresponding functionality or features of this Website may not work properly, or at all. Your use of the core functions and features of this Website will not be affected.
Please note that if you disable essential cookies (or all cookies) using your web browser settings, one or more core functions and features of this Website, including those intended to ensure your visit is safe and secure, will not work properly, or at all.

6. How long will we process and keep your personal information?

We do not process or retain personal data in an identifiable format for longer than is necessary. We process and retain your personal information for the following durations:

  • With respect to essential cookies, the processing of your personal information ends with your browsing session after which your personal information is deleted (except in relation to cookies used to remember your consent preferences, which we retain and process for 13 months from the date you provide your consent).
  • All other cookie-related personal information is processed until the consent which permits such processing is withdrawn or expires (i.e. after 13 months in most cases), at which point it is deleted.

The only exceptions to the periods mentioned above are where:

  • the law, court or supervisory authority requires us to hold your personal data for a longer period, or delete it sooner; or
  • you have raised a legal claim, complaint or concern regarding the processing activities described in this policy, in which case we will retain your information for a period of 6 years following the date of that claim, complaint or concern; or
  • you exercise your right to have the data erased (where it applies) and we do not need to hold it in connection with any of the reasons permitted or required under the law.

7. Who will receive or have access to your personal information relating to cookies?

We may, in justified cases, make the provided and obtained personal data available to other parties, which are in particular: Marketing Agencies, Group Companies, Providers of Analytical and Statistical services.

Our third party service providers, agents and subcontractors (“suppliers”), commercial partners, group companies and other third parties may receive cookie-related personal information either directly from you, us or from one of our suppliers.

Our suppliers can be categorised as follows:

  • Advertising technology (Adtech) and data exchange technology providers
  • Advertising, PR, digital and creative agencies
  • Cloud software system providers, including database, email and document management providers
  • Facilities and technology service providers including scanning and data destruction providers
  • Insurers and insurance brokers
  • Legal, security and other professional advisers and consultants
  • Market and customer research providers
  • Social media platforms
  • Website and data analytics/modelling platform providers
  • Website and app developers
  • Website hosting services providers

The majority of suppliers we use are processors with whom we have a contract in place that requires them to keep your information secure and not to use it other than in accordance with our specific instructions. We only disclose to them or allow them to access personal information that is necessary for them to provide their services.

In relation to the cookies used on this Website, specific recipients are stated in the list of cookies assorted by purpose in section 5 above.

Other parties
We may disclose your personal data to other third parties as follows:

  • any third party who is restructuring, selling or acquiring some or all of our business or assets or otherwise in the event of a merger, re-organisation or similar event; and
  • if we are under a duty to disclose or share your information in order to comply with any legal or regulatory obligation or request, including by the police, tribunals, regulators, the government or related agencies.

Personal information received by other controllers
When we disclose or allow access to your personal information to third parties that are also controllers of that information (e.g. certain suppliers, group companies or our commercial partners), they may disclose or transfer it to other organisations in accordance with their data protection policies. For example, this applies to some of the activities described above in relation to Meta. This does not affect any of your data subject rights as detailed below. Where you ask us to rectify, erase or restrict the processing of your information, we take reasonable steps to pass this request on to any such third parties with whom we have shared your personal information.

In particular, we disclose and provide access to your personal data to Škoda Auto. For detailed information regarding how Škoda Auto handles your personal data, please visit its privacy statement located at http://www.skoda-auto.com/data-privacy.

8. Source of your personal data:

In most cases, we obtain personal data directly from you as part of ordering goods or services, creating and using an account, or communicating with us. We also collect personal data by tracking your behavior on the Website. We may receive this information from a third party if we are not the party setting the cookie on your device.

9. Transfers of your personal data to third countries:

Your cookie-related personal data may be transferred outside to third countries, i.e. of the countries outside of the European Union ("EU") and European Economic Area (“EEA”), if you grant us your explicit consent to do so or if we take steps to ensure that appropriate security measures are taken with the aim of ensuring that your privacy rights continue to be protected as outlined in this Statement. These steps include:

  • ensuring that countries outside the EU and EEA to which transfers are made have been deemed adequately protective of your personal data for the purposes of data protection law by the relevant bodies;
  • imposing contractual obligations on the recipient of your personal data using the standard contractual clauses issued by the European Commission and available at https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dec_impl/2021/914, which the recipient in the third country has committed to in addition to other additional measures to follow.

We will send your personal data to companies located in the United States of America ("USA") to servers located there. Such transfers are based on the adequacy decision for the USA which states that USA provides sufficient protection for personal data for companies that are certified under EU-US Data Privacy Framework.

10. Automated decision-making on the basis of personal data that may be of legal or otherwise significant concern:

We do not envisage that any processing to make decisions that have a legal or significant effect on you will be carried out using purely automated means, however we will update this policy and inform you if this position changes.

11. Other information:

In order to protect your personal data against unauthorised access, disclosure alteration or destruction, we have taken appropriate organisational and technical measures including physical, electronic and management procedures to protect and secure the information gathered through this Website.

What are your rights?

You have the following rights under data protection laws:

To access information we hold about you.

To withdraw your consent for cookies or processing (where we rely on it).

To correct and update your information.

To erase your information (if we do not have a lawful reason to continue to use it).

To restrict further processing of your information.

To transfer your information in a machine-readable format to you or another controller.

To object to the use of your information processed on the basis of legitimate interests (unless we have an overriding lawful reason) or for direct marketing.

To not to be the subject to automated decision-making that has a significant impact on you.

How can you exercise your rights?

If you have any enquiries relating to this policy, our handing of your personal data generally or in relation your data protection rights, you can contact Volkswagen Group Ireland Limited and Škoda Auto using the following information:

Volkswagen Group Ireland Limited

By e-mail:

By mail:

Block C Liffey Valley Office Campus
Liffey Valley, Dublin 22, D22 CF60
Ireland

In connection with the exercise of your rights, Volkswagen Group Ireland Limited may charge a reasonable fee taking into account the administrative costs for processing requests that are manifestly unfounded or excessive.

Škoda Auto

By mail:

Škoda Auto a.s.
Data Protection Office
tř. Václava Klementa 869
Mladá Boleslav II
CZ 293 01 Mladá Boleslav

In connection with the exercise of your rights, the Škoda Auto may charge a reasonable fee taking into account the administrative costs for processing requests that are manifestly unfounded or excessive.

Contacting our data protection team

For questions regarding this policy or the protection of your personal data generally, you can contact the Data Protection Manager at Volkswagen Group Ireland Limited or the Data Protection Officer (DPO) of Škoda Auto.

https://www.skoda.ie/company/privacystatement

Volkswagen Group Ireland Limited

privacy@vwgi.ie

Lodging a complaint

If you disagree with the way Volkswagen Group Ireland Limited or Škoda Auto processes or handles your personal data you have the right to lodge a complaint with Volkswagen Group Ireland Limited the Data Protection Officer (DPO) of Škoda Auto, or a supervisory authority.

Ireland

Data Protection Commissioner
Canal House Station Road
Portarlington
R32 AP23 Co. Laois

Telephone: +353 (0)761 104 8000
Telephone: +353 (0)57 868 4800
Email: info@dataprotection.ie
LoCall Number: 1890 252 231

https://www.dataprotection.ie/

Czech Republic

Office for Personal Data Protection
Pplk. Sochora 27
170 00 Praha 7

+420 234 665 111