Skoda commences production of 4th-gen Octavia in India

Production of the fourth generation Skoda Octavia has commenced at the company's production facility in Shendra, Aurangabad. The first car to roll off the assembly line is a Lauren & Klement variant finished in Lava Blue.

Skoda has announced that it has started production of the fourth generation Octavia at its production facility in Shendra, Aurangabad. The first car to roll off the assembly line is a Lauren & Klement variant finished in Lava Blue. The Octavia is scheduled to be launched in India later this month.

In India, the car is likely to come with a choice of two turbo petrol engines. These include a 1.5-litre TSI paired with a 6-speed manual transmission and a 2.0-litre TSI which could be offered with a 7-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox.

Last month, a Team-BHP fan shared some details of the car from a private unveiling event.

The very first Octavia was built in January 1959 at the production facility in Mladá Boleslav. The marque derived its naming nomenclature from the Latin word 'Octavia' which means 'the eighth'. It was the eighth vehicle in Skoda’s product portfolio post the second world war, as well as the eighth vehicle to feature independent suspension for all the wheels.

In 1966, the Octavia nameplate was resurrected and the first generation Octavia of the modern era was introduced - after Skoda had become part of the Volkswagen Group. In 2001, Skoda entered the Indian market with the Octavia. The second-generation car was introduced in 2006 as the Laura. Skoda brought back the Octavia nameplate in 2013 when it launched the third-generation car.

Worldwide, the Octavia has been Skoda’s best-selling model with about 6.5 million units produced across manufacturing facilities in China, India, Russia, and Kazakhstan. 1 lakh units of the Skoda Octavia have been sold in India.