Skoda made an operating profit of €162.4 million as a result of a 6.5% increase in global sales.

Skoda UK sales topped 25,000 for the first nine months of 2009 and the Czech brand delivered 504,625 globally between July and September.

The Skoda Auto Group manufactured a total of 387,574 vehicles over the first nine months of this year, 22.4% fewer than it did over the same period of 2008.

Robert Hazelwood, Skoda UK brand director, said: "The current trend is very encouraging.

"We’re confident that we’ll reach a record market share level this year."