Skoda Octavia: Four million and counting
Skoda has produced the 4,000,000th Skoda Octavia at its Mlada Boleslav plant, CzechRepublic. Skoda's best known  model,  the landmark 4 millionth unit was a third generation Octavia in a metallic blue paintjob.
At the start of the partnership between Skoda and Volkswagen, the Octavia was the first completely new Skoda model to be launched in October 1996. Nearly 4 million Octavia has been delivered to customers worldwide since then - around 38 per cent of the brand's total sales in this period, making the Octavia the undisputed best seller in the 118-year history of the company.
In 2013, Skoda unveiled the Octavia in four versions: the saloon, the Combi and Combi 4x4 as well as the Octavia RS. The RS, with a top speed of 248kmph, is the fastest series-produced Octavia ever.
The Octavia is also manufactured in Russia (Nizhny Novgorod), India (Aurangabad), Ukraine (Solomonovo) and Kazakhstan (Ust-Kamenogorsk). Another  plant is set to open in China in 2014.
"Four million Octavias produced â€" this impressive figure represents the great success of the model and brand. As the 'heart of the brand', the Octavia has decisively shaped Skoda's outstanding development and made the company what it is today â€" an internationally successful manufacturer, present on over 100 markets worldwide. We are continuing this development with the third generation. The new Octavia is once again a winner with its excellent Skoda genes. It is the largest, lightest, safest, most practical, comfortable and environmentally friendly Octavia ever," said Winfried Vahland, CEO, Skoda.