Skoda’s stock just keeps on rising with new Octavia

Right now Skoda is the sixth most popular manufacturer in Ireland with sales to the end of November of 9,026. The company’s most popular car — by miles — is the Skoda Octavia with a total of 3,978 units registered here in the last 11 months.

That Skoda growth here has exploded in the last 30 years and gone from laugh-out-loud ex-Commie rubbish to integrated European sensation, has largely been down to the Octavia as the car’s simple personality and non-extravagant price base has made it a sure-fire hit with an across-the-board audience like few others, apart from the VW Golf.

The irony in this is, of course, that the Golf has built its massive global success on being an ‘everyman’ car, purchased by business moguls and binmen alike. The Skoda — cue further irony — is based on the same platform as the Golf and, largely, the same mechanicals.