March 2011 Best Month Ever for Škoda

MLADA BOLESLAV, Czech Republic - With 85,000 deliveries (previous year: 74,900 units), the Czech automobile manufacturer Škoda has achieved the best monthly sales result in its history in March 2011 and has continued growing strongly in comparison to the previous year.

Never before did the brand sell more cars in a single month than in the third month of this year. The company thus concluded a strong first quarter of 2011, in which total sales rose 21.4% to 217,100 units (January – March 2010: 178,900 units). In the process, Škoda achieved new all-time record sales in the markets of India, Russia, and Belgium.

“We continue to make very good progress in our markets and remain confident to significantly boost our sales over the entire year of 2011 compared to the previous year,” explained Jürgen Stackmann, the Škoda board member for sales and marketing. “Basically, our growth takes place in all the markets. The greatest dynamics continue to be recorded in the emerging countries of China, India, and Russia. Based on this premise, we expect that the worldwide automobile market will continue to grow this year. Like all manufacturers, Škoda currently pays particular attention to stable logistics and supply chains in order to be able to satisfy the growing demand.”

On its home market of the Czech Republic, Škoda continued to expand its market leadership in March 2011. 5,100 sold vehicles signify a plus of 9.2%, the market share rising to 30.6%. By far the top-selling model of the brand on its home turf was the Octavia Combi. Moreover, the popular station wagon continues to lead its segment in the Czech new vehicle registration statistics.

On the other markets of Central and Eastern Europe, the manufacturer is also keeping up its growth tempo and has achieved high growth rates in March. In Hungary, sales grew 10.8%, in Slovenia 22.1%, and in the Ukraine 54.0%.

On the Western European market, the brand was able to continue strengthening its position with a total of 41,100 sold vehicles in March 2011. Compared to the previous year, sales rose 8.8%. In doing so, Škoda achieved a new all-time sales record in Belgium with almost 2,500 sold units. The development in the Netherlands was exceedingly dynamic: The sales plus reached 133.1% here. In Switzerland, too, growth was above-average with a plus of 26.4%.

Sales by the Czech manufacturer again developed with an extreme dynamic in the growth markets of Russia, India, and China. In all three markets, Škoda clearly outpaced the development of the respective total market in March. Both in Russia with more that 5,500 sales (a plus of 88.2%) as well as in India with more than 3,000 units (a plus of 46.3%), sales rose to a new monthly record. The Fabia enjoyed particularly high demand: Its sales grew 82.5%. In China, Škoda continued the positive development as well: 19,500 deliveries in March 2011 mean a plus of 21.4% compared to the previous year (March 2010: 16,000 vehicles). The most popular models on the Chinese market were the Octavia (a plus of 13.7%) and the Fabia (a plus of 24.1%).

Other individual non-European markets also experienced a very positive development in March: Standing out in particular are Škoda’s sales in Turkey (plus 97.4%), in Israel (plus 21.8%), and in Australia with an even 100 percent growth.

Deliveries to customers in March of 2011 (Škoda models compared to March 2010):
Octavia (34,200 vehicles / plus 15.2%), Fabia (27,300 vehicles / plus 17.6%), Superb (11,700 vehicles / plus 37.3%), Yeti (7,000 vehicles / plus 37.7%), Roomster (3,700 vehicles / plus 12.8%).