Few surprises are in store – it follows the formula set down by the Roomster and Octavia Scouts. So it’s based on the estate version of the new Fabia, but has only ‘visual off-road features’. That means no four-wheel drive to you and me, so it’s another weird faux-by-four. Skoda has concentrated on plastic cladding and chromed roofrails on this concept car that’s surely a dead cert to enter production.
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It was way back in 2000, when the first Fabia was launched, as part of the ‘new’ Skoda line-up. It certainly put a stop to the jokes but far from being an amusement, the company’s makeover succeeded.

The Fabia’s part in the revival of Skoda, or should that be resurgence, amounts to over 2million units exiting the production line since its launch, which serves to indicate the company was and still is, doing something right. In fact the Fabia won no less than seven important awards in the first two years and a good few more since then.

Solid build quality, plenty of interior space and practicality were the supermini’s main qualities and people soon came to realise that any Skoda, represented Volkswagen quality at a bargain price.

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Skoda has reeled in rally legend Carlos Sainz to further the development of its Fabia Super 2000 machine. The Spaniard has joined an extensive test programme for the car, which is being conducted under the watchful eye of former racer and Volkswagen Motor Sport Department boss Hans-Joachim Stuck.

Sainz was impressed with the Fabia 200 and said: “I have got to know the Skoda Fabia really well and I can see a huge step forward as far as the development of the competition version is concerned.”
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In April Skoda’s market share reached its highest level since December 2000. Registrations for the month were 4,137 vehicles, representing a total market share of 2.36 per cent for the Czech manufacturer. This exceeded the 2.26 per cent market share recorded by the company in February this year.

So far in 2008, Skoda has registered 14,367 new vehicles, representing market share of 1.67 per cent for the year. This is a significant improvement on 2007, when the company’s year-to-date market share was 1.53 per cent by April. This impressive performance is ample proof that the quality of Skoda’s vehicles is making a mark on British consumers.
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The project objective is to map out the behaviour of vehicles in real road accidents and make use of the survey findings to further enhance the already existing cars, as well as vehicles whose development is underway.

In cooperation with Czech police, the country’s National Fire Department and other agencies Ministries of the Interior, Transport and Health, Škoda Auto is launching a new road safety survey.
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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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