FLEET buyers could be making trips to Mlada Boleslav in the Czech Republic next year as part of a drive to establish Skoda in the UK business car market. The visits are being planned after Skoda Auto vice-chairman Detlef Wittig said that the VW Group company was poised to spend £3million on a new visitor centre which will show potential customers how its cars are built.

'We are making a large investment in a hand-over facility which will allow customers to collect cars direct from the factory from the end of the year. We will encourage both fleet owners and private customers to come here to collect their cars. We are working hard to improve on our image deficiency of the past, which was based on the low quality of East European cars. Quality is now the mission statement at Skoda and the best way of improving the way people perceive our brand is to let them see the quality that is being built into them.'