Volkswagen : VW's Skoda Auto boosts 2016 deliveries to record 1.13 million cars

PRAGUE (Reuters) - Skoda Auto, the Czech unit of carmaker Volkswagen, raised global deliveries by 6.8 percent to a record 1.13 million cars in 2016, lifted by rising sales in Europe and China, the company said on Tuesday.

The car company said it expected the launch of a new SUV and an upgrade to its flagship Octavia model to bolster its first half of the new year.

"The market launches of the revised Skoda Octavia and the new SUV model Skoda Kodiaq are expected to provide further positive momentum for the brand in the first half of the year," Chief Executive Bernhard Maier said in a statement.

Skoda is the Czech Republic's largest exporter and a bellwether for the economy that has posted solid growth in the past few years.

(Reporting by Jason Hovet)