Skoda Auto's sales grew by 7.1 % last year

Skoda Auto's total sales grew by 7.1 % compared with 2007 and reached 674,530 vehicles - a new record in the history of the Czech Republic's largest car manufacturer.

Considering the impact of the financial crisis in the second half of 2008, this is an excellent result. The company's sales grew primarily thanks to the markets in China and Eastern Europe, and in addition, the West European markets grew, where the brand share increased to 2.3%.

Skoda Auto's sales in Eastern Europe grew by 30.1% and reached 123,630 vehicles. The fastest growing market in 2008 was Russia, where the company sold 50,733 vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 84.2%.

Skoda delivered a total of 59,284 vehicles in China in 2008, 117% more than in 2007. A further 16,051 were delivered to customers in India, with a 31.9% increase over the previous year.

Germany remains Skoda Auto's strongest market in Western Europe. The company increased its market share to 3.9% in 2008, despite the 1.8% overall passenger car market slump. German customers registered 121,277 vehicles in 2008, 2% more than in 2007.

Skoda UK achieved a record market share in 2008, with an increase to 1.75% despite the difficult market climate and the 11% market fall. The UK sold 37,100 vehicles in the year.

With 344,857 vehicles sold last year in total (11.3% more than in 2007), the Octavia (Octavia and Octavia Tour) was Skoda's best-selling model in 2008. The runner-up in terms of sales volumes was the Skoda Fabia, selling 246,561 vehicles worldwide with a 5.9% increase from 2007. The model with the largest percentage growth was the new-generation Skoda Superb, with a rise of 24.9 % and 25,645 sales in total. In addition, the company sold 57,467 Roomsters.

Fred Kappler, Skoda Auto BOD Member responsible for sales, stated: “Despite the current difficulties, we have managed to keep positive sales trends in many of our markets. We are going to continue monitoring Russia, China and India. Although the future sales trends are difficult to estimate now, we believe that the demand for small vehicles such as the Skoda Fabia will grow worldwide, as this category offers financial savings and is in line with the growing environmental awareness. We are looking forward to success with our new models in 2009.“