The company moved the production of its new-generation Superb to Volkswagen's plant in Bratislava. This shift allowed Škoda to start making Octavias at Kvasiny. The car maker continues to produce Octavias at its main facility in Mladá Boleslav as well.
Škoda has made about 7.5 million Octavias since 1996. At Kvasiny, the Octavia will share a production line with the Karoq. The plant also makes the Kodiaq SUV.
To get ready for this change, Škoda opened a training center at Kvasiny. The center has state-of-the-art technology, including three robotic workstations for hands-on training and two classrooms for advanced theory lessons.
Andreas Dick, who's on Škoda Auto's board and oversees production and logistics, said:
"By producing additional units of the Škoda Octavia at our Kvasiny plant we are making efficient use of our flexible production network and fully utilising the capacities of our plants. In addition to comprehensively preparing for the production launch of additional Octavia units at Kvasiny, we have established a training centre providing the ideal setting to further train and upskill our team. I sincerely thank everyone involved in this project for their effort and dedication throughout the process."
The Octavia has a long history at Škoda. The first generation came out in 1996 and was the first model fully developed under the Volkswagen Group. In 1998, Škoda added the Octavia Combi to the lineup, and in 1999, they introduced an all-wheel-drive version.
The second generation, from 2004 to 2013, got better engines, more advanced tech, a stronger body, and a new trapezoidal radiator grille.
For the third generation, Škoda used Volkswagen Group's MQB A platform. This version had a lot of space in the trunk - 590 liters for the liftback and 610 liters for the estate. In 2017, they updated it with split headlights that could have LED technology.
The current fourth generation debuted in November 2019. It uses an updated MQB platform and offers petrol engines with mild-hybrid tech and all-wheel drive options. This spring, Škoda gave it a fresh look, added second-generation Matrix-LED headlights, made it safer and more comfortable, and even added ChatGPT to the Laura voice assistant.
Škoda's use of the Octavia name goes back even further. From 1959 to 1971, they made 360,000 Octavias, including two-door saloons and practical estates.
Source: Škoda