Blog Škoda Octavia G-Tec now available in MOTORu JIKOV colors

The MOTOR JIKOV GROUP's fleet, comprising thirty-five vehicles powered by CNG, has recently been expanded with the addition of the first Škoda Octavia Combi G-Tec. "This new, typically fleet-oriented vehicle, which the Octavia G-Tec certainly is, is very welcome. Over time, it is expected to replace some of the Octavias in the MOTOR JIKOV fleet, five of which have previously been converted to run on natural gas," said Vladimír Dvořák, Head of Services at INVESTIX a.s. Today, the company's fleet is predominantly composed of vehicles powered by CNG, whether converted or originally manufactured to run on compressed natural gas. This includes, for example, eighteen Volkswagen Passat models, four Škoda Citigo, four Volkswagen Caddy, and two Fiat Doblo.

The first Combi G-Tec has been operating under the MOTOR JIKOV colors since mid-November. The gas-powered Octavia, distinguishable from the standard version only by the "G-Tec" badge on the rear door, is equipped with a 1.4 TSI four-cylinder turbo engine rated at 81 kW. The vehicle features a six-speed transmission. The dashboard closely resembles that of a standard Octavia, with a notable difference at the bottom of the tachometer, where the coolant temperature gauge has been replaced by a CNG tank level indicator.

The CNG tank holds fifteen kilograms of compressed gas, sufficient for a range of nearly four hundred kilometers. Drivers cannot switch manually between natural gas and petrol; when the CNG tank is depleted, the vehicle automatically switches to petrol. Once the gas tank is refilled, the vehicle resumes running on CNG. The car is equipped with a fifty-liter petrol tank, providing a total range of up to 1300 kilometers across both tanks.

"We already have another Octavia G-Tec on order, expected to be delivered next year," added Vladimír Dvořák. Orders for the Škoda Octavia G-Tec and Combi G-Tec have exceeded even the manufacturer's expectations. The most popular model on the Czech market began offering a gas version in June, and since then, the Mladá Boleslav automaker has recorded over nine hundred orders, with more than half already delivered to customers. By the end of the year, demand for the G-Tec version is anticipated to reach one thousand units.
The optimistic trend is expected to continue into next year, with the gas version projected to account for up to ten percent of all Octavia sales in the Czech market. In absolute numbers, this would double the predicted sales for 2014.