New Å koda Octavia

Press Release

German sales begin this week

The new Škoda Octavia was presented for the first time in the UK at The Sunday Times Motorshow Live on Tuesday, 25 May. Presented by Dr. Harald Ludanek, Head of Technical Development, Škoda Auto, Škoda's newest model is an all-new family-size car. The entry-level price for the new Octavia is £10,750 for the Classic 1.4 16v, with prices ranging up to just £17,420 for the top-of-the-range Elegance 2.0 TDI PD auto with Škoda's new DSG automatic transmission. The Octavia provides "an extra bit of car" from Škoda. It provides the interior space of an upper-medium car at the prices in the lower-medium segment. The overall length is 4,572mm, on a wheelbase of 2,578, providing an extremely spacious interior with plenty of rear seat legroom. The new Octavia retains the hatchback design of the current Octavia model, in a saloon-like shape. Design is another of the new Octavia's strong points. Designed and engineered at Škoda Auto's headquarters in Mlada Boleslav, in the Czech Republic, the new Octavia has a wing-shaped bonnet, with horizontal lines running from the logo and the radiator grille to the front windscreen. Thomas Ingenlath, Chief Designer at Škoda Auto, comments, "The new Octavia produces a solid impression combined with a unique individual character." The shape of the B-pillars is strong and leads to a smooth transition from the body sides to the columns, with rounded window corners. The pillars produce a feeling of safety, stability and reliability, like a tree deeply rooted in the ground. The rear lights of the new Octavia are immediately noticeable. The rear view emphasises the red-framed, central white parts of the rear lights, creating an eye-catching and self-confident impression. Škoda's "extra bit of car" extends to equipment and technology as well. The Octavia will be available in three trim levels with a selection of six engines. Engine choices include four petrol engines, including the 1.4 16v 75 bhp, 1.6 MPI 102 bhp, and the 1.6 FSI 115 bhp and 2.0 FSI 150 bhp. Diesel choices are the 1.9 TDI PD 105 bhp and 2.0 TDI PD 140 bhp. All the engines are sophisticated in design and use state-of-the art technology to provide the best possible performance and economical operation. Among the petrol choices are new engines with direct fuel injection. All of the diesel engines use Škoda's advanced Pumpe-Düse technology for dynamic driving and outstanding fuel economy. Other advanced technology incorporated into the new Octavia includes:

• Active multi-element rear axle that provides a smooth, stable ride
• The electro-mechanical servo steering has many functions, including the steering booster and a self-centering steering wheel
• A unique DSG transmission with direct gear changing is offered with the diesel engines

Dr. Harald Ludanek, Head of Technical Development at Škoda Auto, describes the work on the new Octavia this way, "Using Škoda's tradition of one hundred years of engineering ability, the expert team in Mladá Boleslav created in the new Octavia a car that satisfies the safety, reliability and flexibility requirements of highly-demanding customers at an attractive price." Equipment levels bear out the "extra bit of car". From the lead-in Classic level, standard equipment includes electric front windows, electro-mechanical power steering, driver and front passenger front and side airbags, stereo system with single CD player, and immobiliser. Ambiente specification adds an alarm system, electric front and rear windows, stereo with six-CD autochanger, remote central locking, split rear folding seats, and Climatic air conditioning. Top-of-the-range Elegance adds alloy wheels, lights in the door mirrors that illuminate the area around the door, parking sensors, auto-dimming rear view mirror with rain sensor, Climatronic two-zone electronic air conditioning, cruise control, leather-wrapped steering wheel and rear folding arm rest. The Octavia, delivers exceptional value to private buyers and company drivers alike. Private buyers will appreciate the excellent prices and the "extra bit of car". Company car drivers will benefit from low P11D values. As a result of Octavia's exceptionally efficient engines and the fact that drivers get upper-medium space at lower-medium prices, most Octavias will fall into the 16-18% tax brackets. Škoda has had a successful Octavia model since 1959. The current version of the Octavia was introduced in 1996; several models will continue in production alongside the new Octavia. With its outstanding qualities, it has been very popular - the millionth Octavia was produced in February 2004, the first Škoda model to reach that level. UK sales have totaled over 60,000 since the launch here in 1998. Chris Craft, Brand Director of Škoda UK, sums up the new Octavia this way. "The new Octavia will bring Škoda's 'an extra bit of car' and high quality to new customers across the UK. Along with the rest of the Škoda family - the supermini Fabia and the flagship Superb - Octavia will continue to provide Škoda's legendary value. Its timeless design, high levels of specification, economical purchase price and operating costs, and, of course, Škoda's outstanding levels of customer service will, I am certain, make it a success."

European Sales

All of the Škoda Auto authorized dealers in the Czech Republic started selling the new Octavia model on Friday 28th May. Although the new car has not been officially launched on the market yet, dealers in the Czech Republic alone have received approximately a thousand binding orders for the car. Later this week, the new Octavia will begin to be sold in Germany as well, and then the model will be put on the markets in Austria, Slovakia, Poland, Switzerland, Spain, and Great Britain by the end of June. However, the customer's current response has made the Škoda Auto company to review the initially planned production capacity of 40,000 units of the new model for this year, and to find ways how to increase this number of approximately 20% more. According to an original plan, 6,500 new Octavias are expected to be sold on the Czech market by the end of this year. The recommended selling price of the Škoda Octavia basic model amounts to CZK 424,900 in the Czech Republic. This sum shall be paid by customers for the Classic version equipped with a 1.4 MPI/55 kW engine. The car's standard equipment includes four airbags (a driver airbag, a front passenger airbag and two front lateral impact airbags), an ABS system with MBA (mechanical brake assistant), EBV, MSR, and ASR systems, electromechanical steering servo unit, both front and rear disc brakes, passenger airbag deactivation system, three headrests, three three-point seatbelt harnesses in the rear, adjustment for a radio deck with four loudspeakers, and a central locking system combined with a SAFE system among other things. In addition to the 1.4 MPI/55 kW base engine, the current supply is made up by two more petrol engines, a 1.6 MPI/75 kW unit (with its selling price amounting to CZK 459,900), and a 1.6 FSI/85 kW engine (with prices starting at CZK 539,900), or two diesel four-cylinder engines: a 1.9 TDI PD/77 kW engine (from CZK 509,900) and a 2.0 TDI PD/103 kW unit (with prices starting at 609,900 crowns). At present, the new Octavia is manufactured in the Škoda Auto branch plant at Vrchlabí. But in the light of increasing the capacity, the manufacture and assembly of the new model shall move to the parent plant in Mladá Boleslav even during the course of this year.