More than Half a Million Škodas Produced in China
The Škoda partner plant Shanghai Volkswagen has cracked the production threshold of 500,000 manufactured Škoda vehicles. Since mid-2007, the plant has been producing various models of the Czech manufacturer for the booming Chinese market. The entry into the market in the same year marked the start of an extremely successful development of the brand in China. With more than 180,000 sold vehicles last year, China also became the largest sales market of the Czech company for the first time. The country also plays a central role for the future growth plans of the manufacturer.
“Škoda will at least double its worldwide annual sales to about 1.5 million units until the year 2018. Besides Europe, the largest growth is probably going to result from the emerging markets. In this development, China is the most important growth market for us,” emphasizes the chairman of the board of Škoda, Prof. Dr. h.c. Winfried Vahland. “The production threshold of more than 500,000 vehicles shows how solid and strong our base in China has become within a short four years. Through extensive investments in the market and in products, we want to sustainably expand this base in close cooperation with the Volkswagen Group,” said Vahland. Thus, the compact SUV Yeti will be manufactured in China as well, beginning in 2013. At the same time, the number of dealerships in China is to rise significantly from approximately 300 to over 600.
The first model of the manufacturer built in China was the Octavia (Octavia Mingrui) in mid-2007. At the end of 2007, the small car Fabia (Fabia Jingrui) was added as a second model. Since 2009, Shanghai Volkswagen has been producing the third model for the Chinese market, namely the Škoda flagship Superb (Superb Haorui).
The vehicles manufactured in China are intended exclusively for the Chinese market. The localization of the production amounts to 90%. Besides its sales success, various automotive awards have been proving the popularity of the Škoda brand in China.