A senior company official said that sales of Skoda brand cars in China would likely to grow 50 percent in 2009 backed by the launch of its third car model in the market, local newspaper reported Tuesday.

Chinese dealers of Skoda brand cars are receiving training in Fabia sales, as Shanghai VW is rehearsing the launch of the new model, which will go on sale in China next month, said xinhuanet.com today. The Fabia is expected to be the best-seller of Skoda cars in the Chinese market.

A Czech unit of Volkswagen AG, Skoda Auto AS, announced Thursday its plans to launch production of its new small-sized sport utility vehicle Yeti in two years.