Skoda strengthens positions in key markets

With a total of 52,064 vehicles delivered to customers this September, Skoda Auto has achieved the best September result in its entire history and continues the precedent set with the excellent sales achieved over the past year. The company sold 410,719 vehicles to its customers over the first nine months of 2006 (the Fabia, Octavia and Superb lines, as well as the new Roomster), 11.1% more than this period in 2005.

The key driving force behind this growth was the Octavia – with 202,617 units delivered to customers, the Octavia line surpassed its 2005 results by 18.1%.

Western Europe was the brand's strongest region over the first nine months of 2006 where 229,051 customers bought Skoda vehicles, 8.4% more than 2005.

In the U.K., Skoda sold 6,229 vehicles in September, bringing the total sales in the first nine months of 2006 to 30,339 vehicles. Whilst the overall U.K. car sales market is down by 3.6% over this period, Skoda’s 2006 YTD sales have risen by 1.3%, increasing Skoda’s 2006 YTD market share to 1.6%. Skoda has also significantly surpassed its 2005 results in Germany, Spain, France, Sweden, Greece and Belgium.

Skoda delivered 152,829 vehicles to customers in Central and Eastern Europe over the first three quarters of 2006, 12.5% more than in 2005. In particular, dynamic growth of the Skoda brand was seen in Russia, Romania and the Baltic states, where single-month records were broken in each of these countries. Skoda Auto is by far the Number One brand in the Czech Republic's passenger vehicle segment.

Skoda also maintained last year's positive trends in Asia and Overseas. From January to September 2006, the company delivered 28,839 vehicles in this region, 28.1% more than the same period in 2005. In particular, sales volumes grew in India (9,222 vehicles, +39.8%), Egypt (3,168 vehicles, + 67.8%) and Israel (2,696 vehicles, +28.1%).