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end of production of first-generation Octavia Tour
Octavia line successfully continues

Mladá Boleslav, 9 November, 2010 – The Octavia model line is the key to Skoda's success. Produced from 1996, the car played a pivotal role in transforming Škoda Auto to a worldwide-successful car manufacturer. With the production of the 1,442,126th Octavia Tour, Skoda terminates the production of this model in the Vrchlabi plant. The Octavia line continues its success story with the secondgeneration Octavia Tour and the second-generation Octavia. Furthermore, a few weeks ago Skoda presented its Octavia Green E Line concept: the first Skoda with an electric engine. The Octavia E Line is going to appear on the roads next year as part of a special test fleet.

The first Octavia in the company's new-age history left the production line in 1996 as a breakthrough product whose quality, design, driving properties and price helped in changing the image of Škoda – the brand became a synonym for reliable vehicles designed to meet the needs of drivers looking for a useful and safe family car. The planning of this model started already in 1992, and the Octavia was thus the first car developed by the brand after Škoda Auto became part of the Volkswagen Group. In 1998, the brand launched an estate version and later also a four-wheel-drive one. The enormously successful model was then modernised in 2000.

"The Octavia is the heart of the Škoda brand. Offering a basically unrivalled combination of roominess, usefulness and focus on family needs, the car perfectly embodies our values. The Octavia has been showing these values convincingly on the road for some 14 years and is going to represent them also in the future," said Škoda Auto BOD Chairman Prof. Dr. Winfried Vahland.

The Octavia came with new engines and technologies, including automatic transmission, four-wheel drive, six-speed transmission, disc brakes on the rear axle, as well as sophisticated safety systems such as ESP, ASR and EDS. Furthermore, the Octavia was the first car in the brand's history to come with a turbo charger (both petrol and diesel). Another breakthrough was a major change in the injection technology used in diesel engines, i.e. indirect injection replaced by direct injection (TDI/SDI). Since its launch, this model line has been offering an ever-increasing portfolio of economical and reliable modern engines.

The Octavia was a revolutionary product also in terms of design – the car not only won the Czech National Design Award in 1999 but, perhaps even more importantly, remained attractive for customers all over the fourteen years of its market presence. Even today, its liftback design, completely novel when the car was launched, underlines the huge size of the car's boot, unrivalled in its class, and makes the loading and unloading of luggage easy and comfortable. The liftback body has become one of the markers this successful model line.

The first-generation Octavia has won a number of awards, including several Car of the Year awards and the Best Estate award in the UK. The second-generation Octavia that Škoda Auto launched in 2004 and then modernised in 2008 continued the success story by winning countless awards, too, including the Auto Trophy in 2008 and 2009, the AutoBest award in 2010, the Best Family Car in 2010, etc.

To date, Škoda Auto has sold over 2,862,000 Octavias worldwide. The brand offers an extensive portfolio of versions, from the sporty RS (both diesel and petrol) to the Scout, a leisure-time vehicle with increased clear height and a "poor roads" packet designed to protect the car in off-road conditions. Customers seeking comfort and luxury can go for the Laurin & Klement trim, environmentally-focused drivers will appreciate the GreenLine version with reduced fuel consumption and CO2 emission levels.

The success of the Octavia is now being taken to the next level with the Green E Line concept that Škoda Auto has presented at the Paris Motor Show as its latest step towards sustainable mobility in individual transport. This electric vehicle is going to appear on the roads in 2011 as part of a test fleet to provide Škoda with more information and experience required for further development of a series-production electric car.

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