Skoda has posted its best first quarter to date as it shrugged off the emissions scandal hanging over parent company Volkswagen.

The Czech automaker sold 276,600 cars in Q1 of 2016, rising 4.3% on the same period of 2015.

Skoda sales director Werner Eichhorn said growth in China and Europe contributed to the strongest start in the company’s 121-year history.

However, Werner Eichorn said sales in some markets, particularly Russia, remained “tense”.

Sales of Skoda cars dropped in some markets in 2015 amid a controversy over the level of emissions from VW’s diesel and petrol cars.

In September 2015, Skoda said 1.2 million of its cars were fitted with the software that allowed VW to cheat US emissions tests.