The Czech car maker Skoda has long repaired the reputation for poor quality that once made it the butt of jokes. Now it has passed another milestone on its journey to respectability after racking up annual global sales of more than a million cars for the first time in its history. The company, which began as a bicycle maker in 1895 and is now owned by VW of Germany, sold 1,037,200 cars around the world last year, up 12.7 per cent on 2013. No Joke: The Skoda Octavia is one of the manufacturer's most popular cars as annual sales of Skoda's exceeded one million for the first time last year . More than a quarter of last year's sales (281,000) were in China, and 75,488 in Britain. Sleek: Skoda's have shed bad reputation with sales reaching more than a million last year . Skoda CEO Dr Winfried Vahland said: 'By delivering more than one million vehicles for the first time in a single year, we have sustainably established ourselves as a volume manufacturer on the international markets with our modern model range.' Skoda factories produce cars in the Czech Republic but also in China, Russia, Slovakia and India and through local partners in Ukraine and Kazakhstan. It currently employs 25,800 people worldwide. The company, whose range includes popular models such as the Superb, Yeti, Fabia and Octavia, now sells 1.4 per cent of cars in the world.
Car maker once butt of jokes but now force in car manufacturing . Company began as bicycle maker in 1895 and now owned by VW . More than a quarter of sales last year's sales were in China .