Production of Skoda’s Yeti small SUV will begin in 2013 at its parent Volkswagen AG's Shanghai assembly plant, according to an e-mailed statement. In a company union newsletter last month, Skoda CEO Winfried Vahland said that the carmaker plans to build 500,000 cars in China in the future but that no dates have been set yet. Because of the growth in Russia, China and India as well as further expansion in eastern Europe, Skoda (the Czech unit of Volkswagen AG) has reported that it will post record sales this year. For the first 11 months of the year, sales had increased by 12.3% to 702,400 vehicles. In 2009, sales had totaled 700,000 cars. Sales this year are expected to hit about 750,000 vehicles. From January to November of 2010, sales in China climbed by 56% to 167,000 cars.
