Record sales for Skoda in 2010

The Czech automaker Skoda has registered in 2010 its best ever year in terms of sales. The brand sold 762,600 vehicles with the revenue rising 22.4 percent to €8.692 billion.

“The year 2011 is – exactly 20 years after the entry of Volkswagen – a year of setting the course and setting out to new horizons for Škoda,” said the chairman of the board  of Škoda, Prof. Dr. h.c. Winfried Vahland, at the annual press conference in Prague. “We began the new year very well and have seamlessly followed up on the record sales year 2010,” said the chief financial officer of Škoda, Winfried Krause.

Skoda expects the sales to keep rising in 2011 integrated in the brand’s strategy and goals of reaching an annual sales volume of at least 1.5 million units until 2018. At the moment the Czech automaker is launching an extensive product and market offensive and planning to increase production at all locations.

“We do not want to be satisfied with what we have achieved and we will shift into a higher gear. Škoda has great potential and is on the verge of a growth spurt. That applies equally to our activities in the markets and to the expansion of the model range,” Winfried Vahland emphasized.

The further internationalization of the brand will be possible through a continuous but rather moderate growth in the core European markets and a dynamic development in the emerging countries such as China, Russia, and India.

“We’re charging ahead in all regions and want to participate intensively in the upswing in the booming regions of the automobile industry,” said the Škoda boss.

Part of Skoda’s strategy the launch of new products is also on the verge. Ntil the end of the year the brand will be launching the new "City Car”. According to Vahland: “This car is our answer to the increasingly strong demand for small cars with low fuel consumption and affordable costs of operation and offers a new sales potential in Europe for us.”

Another strategic step for the brand will be saved for 2012 with the launch of a compact Sedan, located between the models Fabia and Octavia.