Skoda celebrates its millionth sale of 2014
Producing and delivering one million Skoda cars in a single year is a milestone for the Czech manufacturer, and reaffirms its international growth strategy. Skoda honoured the team’s outstanding contribution to the successful development of recent years by hosting the ‘Million Celebration’ at the Skoda Museum.
The one millionth Skoda vehicle produced this year ran off the production lines at the main Skoda plant in Mladá Boleslav on 10 December: a Skoda Fabia 1.2 TSI in moon white. The anniversary car was donated to the ‘Life for Children’ foundation, a charity which provides care and support for ill children in the Czech Republic, and which was selected as the most worthy recipient by Skoda employees. The keys were handed over yesterday evening at a ceremony in Mladá Boleslav.
In addition, the millionth Skoda customer of 2014 – who is from the Czech Republic - was welcomed during the festivities. He had ordered an Octavia Estate vRS, 2.0 TSI in rally-green metallic, and the keys were handed to him by rally champion Jan Kopecky.
“Producing and delivering one million vehicles is a historical milestone that demonstrates the strength of the brand,” said Skoda CEO Prof. Dr. hc Winfried Vahland. “Skoda has achieved a new dimension and is firmly established as an international volume manufacturer. This success can be attributed to our model campaign, and the great performance of our 26,000 employees worldwide. The whole team is very proud of this achievement. At the same time, achieving this million in production and sales will spur us on to pick up the pace over the coming years.”
Skoda growth strategy is successful
By achieving one million in production and sales in 2014, the manufacturer is once again flying the banner high and highlighting its growth. At the heart of the growth strategy is the most comprehensive model campaign in the 119-year history of the company. Since 2010, the brand has been extensively renewing its model range and branching out into important segments – from the small Skoda Citigo to the new Skoda Fabia introduced just a few weeks ago.
“We offer the most attractive and modern Skoda model range of all time,” said Winfried Vahland. The model campaign’s success is reflected in the sales figures: between 2010 and December 2014, Skoda’s deliveries increased by over 30 per cent, making Skoda one of the world’s fastest-growing volume brands.
The company’s development over the past two decades is one of the great success stories in the automotive industry. Since the fall of the Iron Curtain and joining the Volkswagen Group in April 1991, Skoda’s production and sales have increased six-fold. With this came the resurgence of one of the longest-established automotive brands. Skoda's origins date back to the pioneering days of the car in 1895. In its rich history, the company has always delighted customers with legendary cars like the Skoda 860 and Skoda Popular Monte Carlo.
In addition to expanding the model range, an important pillar of the growth strategy is entering new markets beyond Europe. Nowadays, Skodas are available in over 100 countries worldwide. China has been the brand’s strongest market since 2010. In the first 11 months of 2014 around one quarter of Skodas worldwide were sold in China.
