ŠKODA: higher deliveries in September
ŠKODA AUTO has continued on its growth course in September 2012. Year on year ŠKODA’s deliveries to customers rose 3.3 per cent to approx. 83,900. From January to September 2012, the brand’s sales increased by 7.9 per cent year on year. In total, ŠKODA delivered 717,200 cars to customers as at the end of September 2012 (January to September 2011: 664,800).
“ŠKODA has grown further in September 2012 despite an increasingly challenging environment,” says Werner Eichhorn, ŠKODA board member for sales and marketing. “The situation, especially in some European markets, remains difficult. We have held our own and gained further market share. We expect a tailwind in the months ahead as we launch our new ŠKODA Rapid in the markets from October 2012,” says Eichhorn.
In Western Europe, ŠKODA suffered from the market’s weakness, but performed better than the overall market, delivering a total of 33,700 cars in September 2012 (September 2011: 35,200). ŠKODA’s market share rose from 2.8 to over three per cent in the first nine months of the year. The brand especially showed good health in Germany, its largest European market, where it grew 9.2 per cent to approx. 13,700 sold, bucking a strongly declining overall market. In Great Britain, the brand’s second-largest market in Western Europe, ŠKODA sold over 7,400 (+ 1.1 per cent) resulting in their second-best sales figures in there corporate history.
In Eastern Europe, ŠKODA outperformed the market in September 2012. Deliveries rose 22.7 per cent to 11,700 (September 2011: 9,500), making ŠKODA’s growth three times faster than that of the Eastern European market overall (with 7.2 per cent forecasted). The brand’s share of the market in Eastern Europe rose from 3.4 to over four per cent in the first nine months of 2012. In Russia, the region’s largest market, ŠKODA posted an increase of 35.1 per cent, selling 8,800 cars (September 2011: 6,500) and outperforming the market by a factor of over three.
In Central Europe, ŠKODA sold 9,300 cars in September 2012 (September 2011: 10,400). The Central European market overall was weaker year on year, declining by 4.4 per cent. In its home market the Czech Republic, ŠKODA delivered over 4,600 cars to customers in September 2012 (September 2011: 5,100), translating into a market share of some 37 per cent. In the first nine months of 2012, ŠKODA raised deliveries in Central Europe to 94,000 for a year on year increase of three per cent, expanding the brand’s market share in the region from 18.4 to 18.8 per cent in the same period.
ŠKODA also posted growth in the Chinese market as sales rose 6.6 per cent to 22,500 in September 2012 (September 2011: 21,100) for the best monthly figures ever since ŠKODA started selling cars in China.
ŠKODA advanced further in India in September 2012, raising sales by 18.3 per cent to over 2,600 (September 2011: 2,200). In the first nine months of 2012, ŠKODA deliveries in India were up 32.9 per cent to 28,100, meaning the brand outperformed the overall market almost threefold as the latter is forecast to have grown by 11.2 in the same period.
ŠKODA brand deliveries to customers in September 2012 (in units, rounded, by model; +/- in per cent year on year):
ŠKODA Octavia (35,800; -2.1%)
ŠKODA Fabia (18,900; -22.0%)
ŠKODA Superb (10,700; +4.2%)
ŠKODA Yeti (8,400; +29.9%)
ŠKODA Roomster (3,500; -1.1%)
ŠKODA Rapid India (sold in India only: 1,500; new model)
ŠKODA Citigo (sold in Europe only: 4,900; new model)
Article source: www.skoda.co.uk