Skoda at the Shanghai International Motor Show

Skoda Auto is going to present the Octavia manufactured in China for the local market at the International Motor Show in Shanghai. The engine portfolio for the Octavia to be presented in Shanghai includes the supercharged 1.8 TSI/118 kW, as well as the 1.6 MPI/75 kW and 2.0 FSI/110 kW. Looking back at its history of over a hundred years of existence, the Company is going to exhibit one of the oldest products to appear at the Shanghai Motor Show, the Laurin & Klement Voiturette A the premiere of which took place at the Prague Motor Show in 1906.

Besides the Octavia, Skoda Auto is going to use its exhibition area of over 1,100 m2 to present some of the other models making up its portfolio - the Octavia RS, the Octavia Scout and the Superb L&K. Highlighting its long-time support of the Tour de France, the Company will also present a Skoda Superb vehicle tailored to meet the needs of the organisers of the famous cycling competition.

The agreement on cooperation between Shanghai Volkswagen and Skoda Auto was signed on April 11, 2005. In March 2006, SVW Skoda officially started building its sales and maintenance organisation. On March 28, 2007, the Company officially opened the first new exclusive SVW Skoda dealership that fully meets the brand's worldwide standards. The production of the Skoda Octavia in Shanghai is going to start in mid-2007, the Fabia and Superb model lines are going to be added later on.

Fred Kappler, BOD Member responsible for sales and marketing, said in this connection: “We see China as one of our strategic markets in terms of further development of the Skoda brand. The presentation of the Octavia and the production launch are the first steps in building a new position for Skoda in China.”

The licence production in China is one of the cornerstones of Skoda's expansion strategy that also includes assembly projects in the Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Bosnia and Herzegovina and, in the future, Russia. The implementation of the growth strategy, including the production in China, is an important part of the efforts aimed at establishing the Skoda brand internationally as a large-volume manufacturer.

In its medium-term plans, Skoda Auto expects to sell over 100,000 vehicles a year to customers in China after reaching the full capacity of the Shanghai plant and launching the production of all the three model lines to be manufactured there.

With altogether 549,667 vehicles sold in 2006, Skoda Auto significantly surpassed the initially estimated half a million vehicles to be produced last year. Compared with 2005, the sales went up by 11.7 percent. As a result, 2006 was the most successful year in the entire history of the Skoda brand.

Employing over 27,000 people, Skoda Auto has production plants in the Czech Republic, Bosnia and Herzegovina, China, India, Kazakhstan and the Ukraine. Skoda vehicles are sold in 90 countries.