Skoda’s booth at the Beijing Auto Show will host the Chinese debut of the new Skoda Octavia, which will go on sale in May 2014. Alongside the Octavia, the automaker will also unveil the Rapid Spaceback Xindong and the urban version of the Yeti SUV. The third-generation Octavia will be available in China with two petrol engines, the 1.4L TSI and the 1.6L naturally aspirated unit.
Skoda will double its model range in China in 2014 to six locally produced models. By launching new models and expanding output, Skoda aims to increase deliveries to customers in China to more than 500,000 cars per year until 2018.
During the first quarter of 2014, Skoda delivered over 62,000 vehicles in China, an increase of 7.5 percent over the first three months of last year.
China is Skoda’s largest single market worldwide and the Octavia is the most important model for the Czech carmaker. Since 2007, 690,000 Octavias have been delivered to Chinese customers, making up 61 percent of all Skoda vehicles sold in China during this period. In 2013 alone, around 119,200 Chinese customers opted for an Octavia.
The new Octavia will be produced in China starting this spring in cooperation with Shanghai Volkswagen (SVW).
The Chinese debut of the Rapid Spaceback will also take place in Beijing, with the compact model being positioned between the Fabia and the Octavia in Skoda’s lineup. The Rapid Spaceback will also be built in China, adding to the new Octavia, Fabia, Rapid, Yeti and Superb.
By Dan Mihalascu
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