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The new tolling system which came in force in the Czech Republic as of midnight, December 1st, has not created any significant traffic complications, the ctk news agency reports.

Although long lines were expected to form at the country’s borders due to the around 145,000 as yet unregistered vehicles, the transition has been smooth and hauliers are registering gradually at mobile registration points on the country’s borders.

Only the Czech-Slovak border crossing Lanžhot reported a two-kilometre-long line of trucks on Monday morning. The new tolling system, operated by the consortium CzechToll/SkyToll, requires hauliers to register and have their vehicles fitted with a new on-board unit.

Škoda Auto’s latest version of the best-selling Octavia model will be sold on the Czech market for CZK 456,000, the Czech News Agency wrote on Thursday. The starting price of the liftback is 6,000 crowns higher than the price of the previous model.

The basic liftback model will only be available in mid-2020, while the fourth-generation Octavia Combi model, which will cost an extra CZK 180,000 is set to go on sale before the end of the year.

The Czech government has followed the example of other European countries in approving a digital tax on Internet giants such as Facebook, Google, Amazon and Apple. The proposed 7 percent tax on services provided in the Czech Republic should bring in approximately 5 billion crowns of additional revenue a year.

The launch of the new electronic toll system on Czech highways at the beginning of December can cause major traffic disruptions, the toll operator Czech Toll/Sky Toll has warned. Traffic jams of up to 40 kilometres are expected in some parts of the country, especially at border crossings, when the new toll system goes into operation.

Škoda Auto has unveiled the latest version of its best-selling Octavia model, due to roll out on the domestic market by year’s end, in time for the model’s 60th anniversary. The company says it aims to sell over 25,000 new Octavia on the Czech market in 2020.

State-subsidised travel for senior citizens and students has led to full buses in the Czech Republic, iDnes.cz reported. Experts say the government scheme is encouraging existing passengers to travel more.

Sales of new passenger cars in the Czech Republic in the first three quarters of 2018 dropped by eight percent year-on-year to 191,110, according to figures released by the Car Importers Association on Thursday.

The month of September saw a rise by 8.5 percent to 15.770 sold cars. The biggest seller in the period was Škoda with over 64,656 cars, followed by Volkswagen and Hyundai.

President Miloš Zeman will continue using Czech-made Skoda cars in office, the Office of the President reported.

On the occasion of the president’s 75th birthday on Saturday, Skoda Auto representatives presented the head of state with a new, third-generation Skoda Superb. He will also have a new SUV, a Kodiaq, at his disposal.

As Zeman posed for photographers in front of the new Skoda, he reiterated the view that a Czech president should ride in a car made in the Czech Republic.

Starting this Sunday, carriers in the Czech Republic can start registering in the new electronic toll system. The new satellite system, operated by the consortium CzechToll/SkyToll, will be officially launched on December 1.

Hauliers using toll roads will be obliged to have their vehicles fitted with a new on-board unit by that date.

The launch of the new toll system was preceded by months of legal battles with the company Kapsch over the result of a tender for the new toll system operator. The Austrian company has run the Czech highway toll system since 2007.

Škoda Auto’s first electric car, the Citigio, is set to become the cheapest vehicle of its kind on the Czech market. The Czech-based automaker presented the Citigo at a car show in Frankfurt on Tuesday. It will go on sale at the start of 2020 at a cost of CZK 429,000 in the Czech Republic.

The first 500 buyers of the Citigo will receive free electricity from a public network of CEZ charging stations for a period of one year.