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Škoda is celebrating two victories in the renowned ‘Best Cars’ readers’ poll: Readers of the German trade magazine ‘auto motor und sport’ voted the Škoda Fabia into first place in the ‘small cars’ import ranking, while the Octavia came out on top in the ‘compact class’ import ranking. This is the eleventh time the Czech carmaker’s bestseller has won the ‘Best Cars’ title and the second time the Fabia has won a readers’ choice award. More than 100,000 readers voted for their favourites among 422 models across 13 vehicle categories in the 47^th ‘Best Cars’ competition.

“My heartfelt thanks to all the readers who voted for us directly. And of course to all the Škodians involved in creating these great vehicles! The prestigious awards inspire us to continuously incorporate customer feedback into the development of our models. Because that’s what makes our vehicles more attractive – and thus even more successful!”

Klaus Zellmer, Škoda Auto CEO

Klaus Zellmer accepted the trophies at the awards ceremony alongside Jan-Hendrik Hülsmann, Managing Director and Spokesperson for the Board of Škoda Auto Deutschland.

Eleventh victory for the Škoda Octavia in the ‘Best Cars’ category, tenth win in a row
The Škoda Octavia outperformed 29 competitors in its category to take the top spot in the ‘compact class’ import rankings. In total, 13.6% of over 100,000 readers voted for the brand’s bestseller, marking its tenth ‘Best Cars’ victory in a row. The Octavia has now won the title for the eleventh time since the readers’ poll was launched; once it competed in the ‘mid-size’ category in which it also secured the import title. Today, the fourth-generation Octavia stands out with an emotional design, spacious interior, high level of active and passive safety, innovative assistance systems, state-of-the-art connectivity and a diverse powertrain portfolio.

Škoda Fabia celebrates second victory in ‘Best Cars’ readers’ poll
In the ‘small car’ import category, the Fabia won over ‘auto motor und sport’ readers with its attractive overall package, combining dynamic design, outstanding spaciousness and efficient powertrains. Receiving 16.9% of the votes, it outshone 19 competitors in its category to scoop the award for the second time since 2008. The fourth generation of Škoda’s entry-level model is based on the Volkswagen Group’s Modular Transverse Toolkit (MQB-A0).

This year’s ‘Best Cars’ readers’ poll saw a total of twelve titles go to vehicles from various Volkswagen Group brands.

Article source: www.skoda-storyboard.com

Škoda has set two official world ice drift records with the Enyaq RS iV SUV, the brand’s second all-electric sporting model. The records for the ’Longest Continuous Vehicle Drift on Ice’ and the ‘Longest Continuous Vehicle Drift on Ice (electric car)’, have been verified by GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS. They were set by motoring journalist Richard Meaden on a circular track measuring 188.496 m in circumference on the frozen Stortjärnen lake near Östersund, Sweden, on Thursday 19 January 2023.

The first record broken by Škoda on the Stortjärnen lake was for the Longest Continuous Vehicle Drift on Ice. Driving the recently launched Škoda Enyaq RS iV SUV, Richard Meaden set a new officially-verified record by holding the car in a controlled slide for more than 15 minutes and 7.351 km. Meaden’s drift beat the previous record of 6.231 km, set in China in 2022. In breaking the first record, Meaden and the Škoda Enyaq RS iV SUV set a second record for the ‘Longest Continuous Vehicle Drift on Ice (electric car)’.

With a GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS adjudicator present and international drifting judge David Kalas as a witness, Škoda set the record on the brand’s fourth day on location following numerous practice runs with different tyre combinations. A total of 18 hours of drifting were put in across the full five days in sub-zero temperatures to achieve the perfect drift.

The Enyaq RS iV SUV held its own under demanding conditions and powered round the drift circle 39 times during the 15 minutes and 58 seconds of its record-breaking run. It achieved a top speed of 48.69 km/h and was travelling at 31.64 km/h at its slowest point.

The standard production car used to complete the record was fitted with 20-inch alloy wheels. The Däckproffsen 245/35-R20 ‘event tyres’ (sourced from Michelin) on the front had 600 5 mm studs, enabling an even better traction and steering input on the frozen grip-less surface; whilst the Nokian Hakkapelitta 255/45-R20 tyres fitted on the rear wheels had 300 2 mm studs across the tyre surface, which proved the ideal combination on the 40 cm deep ice surface.

The setting of two new GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS titles returns Škoda, the new record-holder Richard Meaden and the RS nameplate to the record books. In 2011, the British driver set a new Southern Californian Timing Association (SCTA) Land Speed Record for a 2.0-litre forced induction production car of 227.080 mph. Driving a Škoda UK-built Octavia RS, the record was set at the legendary Bonneville Salt Flats in the USA.

Meaden said of the triumph: “Being back behind the wheel of another record-breaking Škoda is pretty special, going from the Bonneville Salt Flats of the USA to a frozen lake in Scandinavia – setting two different records in two very different cars. I’m incredibly proud to be part of a record-breaking team again 12 years on – who would have thought we’d be here drifting an electric car on ice? It shows just how much the automotive world is changing, and how exciting it is too.”

The Enyaq RS iV features sports suspension 15 mm lower at the front over the standard Enyaq iV, and 10 mm lower at the rear. Furthermore, progressive steering and Drive Mode Select as well as optional Dynamic Chassis Control for an adaptive damping system enable even better traction. Further enhancements include characteristic RS sports bumpers, gloss black exterior detailing, as well as sports seats with black leather upholstery extended to the steering wheel and dashboard trim.

The Enyaq RS iV SUV is the second all-electric Škoda to bear the RS badge, offering 299 PS and 0-100 km/h in just 6.5 seconds from its 82 kWh (77 kWh net) battery and twin electric motors. With one on each axle, the Enyaq RS iV produces 460 Nm of torque, with instant acceleration and powerful performance. The vehicle can be fast charged at speeds of 135 kW, meaning an 80% charge can be achieved in as little as 36 minutes.

Article source: www.skoda-storyboard.com

Škoda Auto and the automotive industry faced many challenges in the past year, including the ongoing semiconductor shortage, the war in Ukraine, supply chain issues, rising energy and raw material prices and continuing geopolitical uncertainty. Despite these obstacles, the company delivered 731,300 vehicles and maintains a high order backlog, which demonstrates the strong customer demand for its vehicles. The rapidly increasing popularity of the Enyaq iV (+20%) highlights the success of Škoda’s recently launched e-offensive. In addition, Škoda’s efficient combustion engine models remain very popular, with the Octavia being the most successful, followed by the SUVs Kamiq and Kodiaq. In 2022, Škoda also significantly strengthened its internationalisation initiative: In the strategically important growth market of India, the carmaker has more than doubled its deliveries. Another key step in leveraging growth potential will be its expansion into the Vietnamese market.

Klaus Zellmer, Škoda Auto CEO, says: “Never before in its recent history has Škoda Auto been confronted with such extensive challenges as in the past year. Despite these difficult times, our company is making steady progress thanks to an attractive and modern model portfolio comprising e-models and ICE cars, as well as our strong, motivated team and the close cooperation with our social partner, KOVO. We’ve demonstrated resilience, a quality that is more important than ever in a fast-changing environment. With the acceleration of our e-offensive, we’re well positioned for the upcoming years and will continue to strengthen the Czech Republic as a key automotive and e-mobility hub. The market situation will remain tense in 2023, but we’re cautiously optimistic that the situation will improve in the coming months. Furthermore, our strategy is already proving successful, and our products are very well received by customers. Thus, we’re building on a very solid foundation to successfully steer Škoda through 2023, when we will introduce the new generation of our Superb and Kodiaq, among other projects.

Martin Jahn, Škoda Auto Board Member for Sales and Marketing, adds: “We delivered 731,300 vehicles worldwide last year, and we more than doubled our deliveries in India, already one of our three most important markets. The models we launched in 2022 are receiving a lot of interest from customers. The new Fabia Monte Carlo has had a good start, and the all-electric Enyaq iV continues to enjoy a significant increase in popularity. We accomplished all these achievements despite the coronavirus pandemic, the semiconductor shortage and the war in Ukraine. I want to thank our customers for their patience with the long delivery times that have resulted. We’re working hard to bring the cars to the customers as soon as possible. I would also like to thank all our partners – especially our dedicated dealers – for their extraordinary efforts. Some promising highlights will follow this year: the new generation of the Kodiaq and Superb, as well as facelifts of the Kamiq and Scala. Meanwhile, the work on our e-offensive is in full swing. We’ll be launching three new all-electric models as early as 2026, with more to follow.”

Investing in a strong future
Škoda Auto is accelerating its electric offensive and investing in transformation: Over the coming years, the Czech car manufacturer will allocate a further 5.6 billion euros towards
e-mobility and 700 million euros towards digitalisation. The transformation is already visible: In the summer of 2022, the company unveiled its new brand identity with a refreshed design language, a new logo and a comprehensive update of the corporate identity (CI).

The car manufacturer is also continuing to internationalise the company and is about to enter the Vietnamese market. In cooperation with Thanh Cong Motor Vietnam (TC Motor) as a local partner, Škoda Auto will offer the first European models there during the first half of this year.

Article source: www.skoda-storyboard.com

The ŠKODA lighting design team has been awarded with a prestigious People Awards by the British online portal Car Design News (CDN). In the first-ever award decided with votes, the Czech car manufacturer came out on top against top-class competitors in the “Best Lighting Design Team” category. Representatives of ŠKODA Design accepted the award at a gala dinner in London’s Leicester Square. The jury comprising 17 renowned international automotive and design experts presented the People Awards in 14 categories to personalities responsible for the final product design. In addition, ŠKODA was one of the four finalists in the “Equality by Design” category at this year’s awards ceremony.

Ambience, user-friendliness and communication through light
In the “Best Lighting Design Team” category, Car Design News (CDN) awarded car designers who use light to create a more pleasant ambience in the interior, to increase user-friendliness and driving comfort or to communicate with other road users. The lighting design team of the Czech car manufacturer prevailed against four top-class competitors. The 17 internationally renowned jury members from the automotive and design industry judged the lighting design of the entire current ŠKODA product range and praised its unique lighting signature. This also characterises the Crystal Face in the battery-electric models of the ENYAQ iV family, with 131 LEDs that illuminate not only the vertical ribs but also the horizontal bar of the ŠKODA grille. Before entering the vehicle, the Crystal Face, together with the full LED matrix headlights and rear lights, creates an animated welcome effect.

Awards for the “Faces behind the Product”
The inaugural People Awards recognise individuals and teams in all areas of automotive design, rather than products, and aim to bring together young talent in the industry. The awards in 14 categories represent every step of the design process and are open to all designers in the international automotive industry. The UK online portal Car Design News provides news, insight and background information for the global car design community.

Article source: www.skoda-storyboard.com

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