2013 Skoda Octavia enters production; European launch in late Jan 2013

The newly launched 2013 Skoda Octavia has entered series production at Skoda's main plant in Mladá Boleslav, Czech Republic.

The automaker has announced that the third generation of the Octavia will see its market launch in Europe sometime in late January 2013, putting the speculations of a Geneva Motor Show launch to rest. The Czech manufacturer has high hopes on their new car.

Skoda says that the Mladá Boleslav factory has undergone one of the 'most comprehensive modernization and expansion' in its history to accommodate the 2013 Octavia which is based on the MQB platform. The daily production capacity of Rapid/Octavia assembly line in the plant has been increased to 1,200 from 800 units.

Dr. Winfried Vahland, CEO of Skoda Auto said: "The Octavia is the heart of ŠKODA brand. Our people have employed competence and passion to create the best Octavia ever. This car is a class of its own in every respect. It is a great moment to give the starting shot for the third generation here at our main plant today."

The Octavia has been the company's global best seller with the previous generation (sold as Laura in India) accounting for 44% of the company's sales in 2012 so far and the new model is expected to do even better by being one of the top 10 best selling cars in the world.

Skoda says that the launch of the new Octavia marked the start of a model offensive strategy which will see a new or refreshed product being launched every six months until 2015. The company aims to sell a minimum of 1.5 million vehicles annually by 2018.

We expect the 2013 Skoda Octavia to be launched in India during the Diwali 2013 as the next generation Skoda Laura.