Skoda owners are so happy with their cars that they have placed the manufacturer second in the 2008 JD Power & Associates Customer Satisfaction Survey. The company has now featured in the top five of the survey for 13 years in a row.

After placing joint second in the 2007 survey, Skoda was the clear runner-up this time, with a total customer satisfaction index (CSI) of 84.6 per cent. Only premium car maker Lexus beat Skoda’s impressive performance.

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The two millionth Skoda Fabia to be produced has just rolled off the production line. The record-breaking vehicle was a ‘Satin Grey’ Fabia Estate 1.4-litre 16-valve. Launched in January 2008, the new generation estate has already been delivered to 19,503 customers around the world. When one includes hatchback sales, the total number of new Fabias sold this year reaches 63,579.

Skoda’s Fabia has been a huge success since the launch of the first generation model back in 2000. Nearly 1.8 million were sold before the new version was introduced in early 2007.

The latest addition to the line-up is the fabulously frugal 1.4 TDI Fabia GreenLine. Boasting nearly 69mpg on the combined cycle and CO2 figures of 109g/km, GreenLine models not only do their bit for the environment but should also make forecourt trips mercifully infrequent. Buyers can opt for either hatchback or estate versions, which cost £11,490 and £12,140 respectively.

Škoda’s results for the first quarter of 2008 have exceeded all expectations. Sales over the past three months totalled 173,474 vehicles – that’s an increase of 15.7% compared to the same period last year.

Elsewhere, the Octavia also retained its popularity with buyers. Nearly 71,000 were sold in the first 12 weeks of 2008.

These impressive first quarter results were largely due to growing demand in Eastern Europe and China. Over 27,000 Škoda vehicles were sold in Eastern Europe (up 38.6%) with Chinese sales totalling 16,212.

Along with the standard versions of the new Superb, Skoda also took the wraps off the Superb GreenLine at the Geneva Show. The name GreenLine adorns Skoda models with optimised efficiency that exhibit reduced consumption. The Superb GreenLine is equipped with a 1.9-liter 4-cylinder turbo diesel engine with an output of 105 Hp.

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Good news for Skoda as Volkswagen’s Czech unit is on course to reach its 2008 sales target of 700,000 vehciles worldwide by the end of 2008. “After three months, we are on target and should reach this figure at the end of the year,” said Skoda spokesman Jaroslav Cerny, without giving any more details though.

Skoda, which has production sites in the Czech Republic, China, Russia, India and Ukraine managed to sell 630,032 cars in 2007 contributing to the VW Group’s full-year profit by approximately 13 percent.

Via: Yahoo

On Wednesday, April 23, the two millionth Škoda Fabia was produced in Mladá Boleslav. The vehicle marking the two-millionth threshold for Škoda’s smallest model is a Satin grey metallic Fabia Combi Sport 1.4 16V 63 kW.

Launched this year in January, the new-generation Fabia Combi has already been delivered to 19,503 customers. As a result, the total number of customers choosing a Fabia model over this period is 63,579 (+ 8.5 %).

The Fabia is manufactured in the Mladá Boleslav plant and also assembled in Russia, India and the Ukraine. The milestone-marking Fabia Combi is going to find its owner in Sweden.

Get a load of Skoda’s latest estate! This is the first official picture of the new Fabia wagon, which will make its world debut at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September.

Aiming to capitalise on the previous version’s popularity, the car will give Peugeot’s new 207 SW some tough competition in the growing supermini estate market.

As you can see, the Skoda carries on the styling themes of the hatchback, with a classy but understated look.

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Skoda is jumping on the environmental bandwagon as well. The Czech maker is launching a new eco-friendly Fabia – badged Greenline – at the Frankfurt Show. And with CO2 emissions of 110g/km and 70mpg fuel economy, it certainly lives up to its name.

Externally, only the use of low rolling resistance tyres marks out the eco-friendly machine. Inside, luxuries such as electric windows and air-con have been dumped in an effort to save weight.

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It looks as if Skoda is about to go exploring again. This is the Fabia Scout – a rugged version of the new Estate. As with the Octavia and Roomster Scout variants, it has protective body mouldings and a raised ride height. To that it adds a handy, fold-out rear ledge and a system of luggage straps in the boot. With more room than a Volvo V50 and chunky looks, it should prove popular when it goes on sale next year, priced from around £12,000. A facelifted Octavia will also arrive in 2008.

Source: autoеxprеss.co.uk

This eco-friendly Greenline version of the Fabia Estate is heading for the UK.

It has a three-cylinder 1.4-litre TDI diesel and hi-tech exhaust recirculation system, while power-sapping luxuries such as air-con and electric windows are dropped. It can do 70mpg and emits only 110g/km of CO2. The car is expected to arrive in the UK next year.

More images inside

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