Box Autos

​“The ŠKODA Octavia Combi was 2012’s best selling estate in Europe,” says Prof. Dr. h.c. Winfried Vahland, ŠKODA CEO. He continues, “The new generation has everything to continue this success in the coming years. The new Octavia Combi offers even more car, even more space and even more ‘Simply Clever’ solutions – in short: more ŠKODA”.

The production facilities at the Mladá Boleslav plant have been expanded and modernized significantly to accommodate the manufacture of the new ŠKODA Octavia Combi. For the production of the Octavia/Octavia Combi and Rapid, the Czech manufacturer gradually increased the capacity of the assembly line from 800 to 1,200 vehicles per day.

“We are facing the third major start of production within a few months,” says Michael Oeljeklaus, the ŠKODA Board Member for Production and Logistics. “My compliments to the entire team working in production, planning, tool-making and logistics for rising to this challenge with great competence and passion,” adds Oeljeklaus.

In preparing for the production of the new models, the plant in Mladá Boleslav commissioned, amongst other things, a new car body shop and a fully-automated paint shop for the interior. Since the end of February, a new state-of-the-art press line has also been in operation. The company invested around 66 million EUR in this project alone. Over the next few days, ŠKODA will also put a new state-of-the-art logistics warehouse into operation to ensure that parts and assemblies are supplied to production faster, more efficiently and flexibly than ever before. “We are making huge investments in our production. The fact that we produce two out of three cars in Europe shows how important our home base is,” says Vahland.

With the new ŠKODA Octavia Combi, the Czechs are putting everything they have into creating the most successful model campaign in the history of the company. This year alone, eight new or reengineered models will be introduced onto the market. By 2015, ŠKODA will have overhauled its entire model range and expanded into other segments. As a part of the 2018 Growth Strategy, the manufacturer aims to increase the number of sales worldwide to at least 1.5 million units a year by 2018.

Being by far the brand’s best-selling model, the new ŠKODA Octavia will play a central role in achieving this goal. “The Octavia is at the heart of our brand,” says Vahland. “And the Combi represents all good ŠKODA values and has a major share in the success of this model series,” emphasizes the ŠKODA chief. Of the 3.8 million ŠKODA Octavias that have been sold to date, about 1.3 million have been estates.

The new ŠKODA Octavia Combi is 90 millimeters longer and 45 millimeters wider than its predecessor. The wheelbase has grown by almost eleven centimeters. The result: new benchmarks in terms of space and room. No other vehicle in this segment offers as much legroom or such a large boot.

They are complemented by numerous ‘Simply Clever’ details: besides features already known from the new Octavia hatchback such as the double-sided floor mat in the boot, the extensive network program, numerous hooks for bags, the rubbish container and plenty of space for drinks bottles and mounts for mobile devices, the ice-scraper in the fuel tank cap or the safety vest holder under the driver’s seat, the new estate features more gadgets such as the coat rack and the remote backrest release in the boot. Underneath the variably adjustable and retractable dual-loading floor, there is space for transporting the boot cover and the roof rack when they are not needed.

The design of the Octavia Combi boasts clarity, precision and perfect proportions. The new ŠKODA design language is a perfect fit for the new Octavia Combi, too. “This car is a complete package, the Combi is room at its finest,” says Dr. Frank Welsch, the ŠKODA Board Member for Technical Development.

The new Octavia Combi can also be fitted with state-of-the-art safety, comfort and infotainment systems that you would normally find in higher vehicle segments. Yet, the new generation weighs up to 102 kilograms less than its predecessor. This ‘slimming down’ as well as the new generation of state-of-the-art TSI and TDI engines allow for record values in fuel efficiency and emissions. On average, the fuel consumption is 17 % lower than in the previous model. The efficient GreenLine version runs at only 3.3 liters of diesel per 100 kilometers, which corresponds to CO2 emissions of only 87 g/km.