The Skoda Rapid is now in production at Volkswagen’s Russian plant in Kaluga, with local launch set for the end of April.

“Having sold over 130,000 of these vehicles so far, the ‘new class’ of Skoda has been a great success,” said Skoda Auto CEO Winfried Vahland. “Through starting production in Kaluga, the Rapid has been launched in our third-strongest market worldwide.” Skoda plans to grow substantially in Russia over the coming years and the Skoda Rapid is a cornerstone in Skoda’s growth strategy.”

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The Volkswagen group brand delivered 87,500 vehicles to Russian customers in 2013. In mid-February, the manufacturer began producing the updated Yeti at Nizhny Novgorod – VW’s second manufacturing site in Russia alongside Kaluga.

The compact saloon is also produced and sold in China and India.

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