SKODA Octavia vRS Estate Cars Enters London’s Air Ambulance Fleet

LONDON -- August 7, 2014: London’s Air Ambulance has updated its rapid response fleet with the addition of four replacement ŠKODA Octavia vRS Estate cars The vehicles will operate when the charity’s helicopter is unable to fly and support the service as back up vehicles in the event of Major Incidents 2.0 TSI 220PS model offers high performance with low emissions Milton Keynes, 07 August 2014 – ŠKODA UK has delivered four Octavia vRS Estate rapid response vehicles to London’s Air Ambulance supporting the service with its 24/7 life-saving operation.

With the requirement for a high level of practicality, reliability and durability in addition to a low whole life cost, the Octavia vRS Estate 2.0 TSI, with a six-speed manual gearbox, was chosen by London’s Air Ambulance to ensure the most effective 24/7 advanced trauma cover for London. The Octavia vRS Estate features a spacious interior and a class leading 1,740-litre boot, CO2 emissions from 119g/km and impressive combined fuel economy of 61.4mpg.

ŠKODA has worked with the charity for a number of years supplying high performance vehicles fitted with additional safety features for emergency blue light driving. The charity’s Physician Response Unit (PRU) also has a new ŠKODA Superb 4x4 Estate, which will again act as a back-up trauma car in adverse weather conditions – thanks to its intelligent all-wheel drive system and exceptional level of grip. Two new ŠKODA Yeti Crossovers have also been added to the fleet to support the charity’s fundraising activities.

Patrick McGillycuddy, Head of Fleet for ŠKODA UK, commented: “We are extremely pleased to continue building our existing relationship with London’s Air Ambulance. ŠKODA vehicles are particularly popular within the emergency services and the latest additions will offer the charity the ideal combination of exceptional space, durability and versatility.”

Graham Hodgkin, Chief Executive Officer at London’s Air Ambulance, added: “We operate 24/7, delivering an advanced trauma doctor and paramedic to seriously injured patients across the capital. While the helicopter is the most efficient way of delivering this care within minutes, our rapid response cars are also a critical component of London’s emergency infrastructure and our new fleet will further enhance the impact of our service, and take our partnership to the next level.

“The ŠKODA Octavia vRS Estate vehicles are excellent quality – the high performance models are fast, robust and offer excellent fuel economy. They deliver the perfect combination of speed, space and functionality enabling us to provide comprehensive 24/7 trauma care to those that critically need it, in the fastest and safest way possible.”