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Starting the Growth Path
2010 was a year of important changes for Škoda Auto, in terms of both products and management. On 1 September 2010, Prof. Dr. h.c. Winfried Vahland assumed responsibility for the management of the company, becoming the CEO of Škoda Auto. Under Vahland's leadership, Škoda set forth plans to double the company’s annual sales (later known as the ‘Growth Strategy’, Czech: ‘Růstová Strategie’).

At the 2010 Paris Motor Show in September 2010, the company unveiled the Octavia Green E Line. This e-car concept was the forerunner to the e-car test fleet that Škoda released in 2012. The final 1st-generation Octavia (Tour) was produced at the Mladá Boleslav plant in November 2010. The worldwide production of this model exceeded 1.4 million units since its release in 1996. In 2010 for the first time in history, China overtook German sales to become Škoda's largest individual market.

In 2011, Škoda Auto celebrated its 20-year partnership with the Volkswagen Group. More than 75,000 visitors attended an open-house event held in Mladá Boleslav in the April. Earlier that year, the company provided details on its 2018 Growth Strategy: for at least one new or completely revised model to be released every six months. With this in mind, the company redesigned its logo and CI, which was presented at the 2011 Geneva Motor Show. Škoda’s main attraction at the event was the VisionD design concept; a forerunner to the future 3rd generation Octavia. Škoda presented the MissionL design study at the IAA in Frankfurt am Main in September, which was to become the basis of the company’s forthcoming compact model the European Rapid. In the same year, the company started production of the new Rapid model in Pune, India (October 2011), and launched the Citigo at Volkswagen's Bratislava plant (November 2011).

During 2012 Škoda was preparing the introduction of two volume models. The European version of the Rapid premiered at the Paris Motor Show. This car was a successor to the 1st-generation Octavia in terms of its price bracket. The second volume model was the 3rd-generation Octavia, which premiered In December 2012. Production of the 5-door Citigo also began in Bratislava, and the production of the Yeti was launched at the Nizhny Novgorod GAZ factory.

In 2012 Škoda introduced an emission-free fleet of Octavia Green E Line e-cars on Czech roads to be used by external partners. Since internal tests on the fleet in late 2011, the e-fleet had driven more than 250,000 km. During the same year, Škoda celebrated several milestones, including fourteen million Škoda cars being produced since 1905 (January), three million Fabias (May) , 500,000 Superbs at the Kvasiny plant (June ) and 5 years of Škoda operations in China.

Massive rejuvenation of the model range was a major tune for 2013 at Škoda: The Czech carmaker launched the third-generation Octavia Combi and Octavia RS (both liftback and estate) as well as facelifted Superb and Superb Combi. They were accompanied by brand new members of the Rapid family as the Rapid Spaceback, the first Škoda hatchback car in the compact segment, and the Chinese version of the Rapid. Also the Yeti faced significant changes. With the facelift, two design variants of Škoda 's compact SUV are now available: city-like Yeti and rugged Yeti Outdoor. Moreover, Chinese customers were given the Yeti with prolonged chassis.