diff --git a/Dockerfile b/Dockerfile
index 4a980ef8e02..b5217da0ead 100644
--- a/Dockerfile
+++ b/Dockerfile
@@ -193,6 +193,9 @@ RUN if [ "${IMAGE_TYPE}" = "extras" ]; then \
 	PATH=$PATH:/opt/conda/bin make -C backend/python/coqui \
     ; fi
 
+# Make sure the models directory exists
+RUN mkdir -p /build/models
+
 # Define the health check command
 HEALTHCHECK --interval=1m --timeout=10m --retries=10 \
   CMD curl -f $HEALTHCHECK_ENDPOINT || exit 1