Production of the new ŠKODA Octavia begins in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia – Jun 25, 2013– Novgorod, Russia (Techreleased) – ŠKODA today launched production of the new ŠKODA Octavia at GAZ Group’s factory in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia. The ŠKODA Octavia is by far the brand’s bestselling car in Russia. This popular SKODA model’s third generation is a class of its own, impressing with lots of space, high functionality, top-class safety, efficient engines and a timelessly elegant design.
“We are aiming for strong growth in Russia in the years ahead, and the start of production of the new ŠKODA Octavia is a very important step in this direction,“ says ŠKODA CEO Prof. Dr. h.c. Winfried Vahland. “Russia has become our third-most important sales market worldwide and our number two in Europe. The Octavia currently accounts for more than half of ŠKODA’s sales in Russia. In launching the third Octavia generation, we are aiming to extend the great success story this bestseller of ours has been writing and permanently boost our brand’s growth in Russia,” says Vahland.
Production in Nizhny Novgorod is in cooperation with Volkswagen Group Russia (VGR) and Russian automobile manufacturer GAZ. “Producing the new Octavia in country will provide important momentum for our brand in Russia and thus strengthen our corporate strategy,” says Michael Oeljeklaus, ŠKODA board member for production and logistics.
Production in Russia involves the entire vehicle manufacturing process including body production, painting and assembly. The new ŠKODA Octavia is the second ŠKODA model after the ŠKODA Yeti to run off the line in Nizhny Novgorod.
In preparation for the production of these two models, partners VGR, GAZ and ŠKODA invested a total of about 300 million euros in new plant and comprehensive modernisation work in Nizhny Novgorod. Also, a new training centre for local production staff was created at the plant in early 2012. “At the basis of the success of our cars in the markets is uniform quality worldwide. The training centre at GAZ ensures an end-to-end quality management at this location, too,” says Michael Oeljeklaus.
The ŠKODA Octavia is the brand’s bestselling car in Russia by far. “The Octavia is the heart of the brand,” says Vahland. In 2012, ŠKODA sold 52,000 Octavias to Russian customers, equivalent to almost 52 per cent of all of ŠKODA’s sales in Russia last year. In the first five months of 2013, the Octavia’s share of ŠKODA’s sales in Russia even rose to 56 per cent as about 18,800 customers opted for a ŠKODA Octavia from January through May.”
More than ever, the Octavia’s third generation sets standards in the compact segment, impressing with an unmatched space offering, a new design, high functionality, innovative safety and comfort systems, superior fuel economy, numerous “Simply Clever” ideas and a ŠKODA-typical price-value ratio.
ŠKODA is performing extremely well in Russia, setting a new sales record in 2012 at 99,100 units. This means the company is impressively building on its exceedingly successful showing in recent years: from 2005 to 2012, ŠKODA increased sales to Russian customers more than thirteenfold. In the first five months of 2013, ŠKODA sold 33,700 cars in Russia.
Under its 2018 growth strategy, Skoda aims to increase its worldwide sales to at least 1.5 million per year. To this end, the company has initiated the largest model offensive in its 118-year history. In this year alone, ŠKODA will launch eight new or revised models, among them four variants of the Octavia. By the end of 2015, ŠKODA aims to completely revamp its model range and expand it in important segments.
