Skoda Auto to looks towards a new growth spurt

Skoda Auto to looks towards a new growth spurt

Link to oneighturbo.com

Skoda Auto to looks towards a new growth spurt

Posted: 04 Nov 2010 05:28 AM PDT

In the next ten years, Skoda Auto will significantly increase its activities internationally, primarily on non-European growth markets. “Skoda is looking towards a new growth spurt. As a minimum, we aim to double the overall sales of the Skoda brand in comparison with today’s volumes by the end of the decade,” said the chairman of the board of Skoda Auto, Prof. Dr. h.c. Winfried Vahland, at this year’s Automobilwoche Congress in Berlin. In this context there is a plan to expand the model range, as well as invest in production capacities in domestic plants in the Czech Republic and on foreign markets.

  • Doubling of sales in the next ten years
  • Strengthening of the presence on the international growth markets
  • Expansion of the model range

The strongly growing automobile markets outside of Europe are the leading driving force for future sales growth. While the sales share on these markets still hovers at about 30 percent today, it is to be increased to well beyond the 50 percent threshold in the coming ten years. “The consistent internationalization of the Skoda brand is part of the corporate strategy “Skoda RS”, Mr. Vahland continued. “With this, we also want to continue to reinforce our function as the entry brand to the Volkswagen Group.”

During the past twenty years, Skoda Auto has established a successful track record with clever, space-oriented automobiles, placing a regional emphasis on the European markets. During this period, the brand was able to triple the number of its customers. Within the framework of the “Skoda RS” strategy, the brand will now further expand its model range. The coming year will see the introduction of a new Skoda compact car. “In doing so, we will expand our offering to new vehicle segments based on our motto “simply clever”,” Mr. Vahland explained in Berlin.

The course for the new markets has been set. Besides the plants in the Czech Republic, Skoda Auto already has manufacturing capacities in India, Russia, and China, among others. In the past three years, Skoda was able to more than double sales in these countries. In China alone, Skoda Auto sold more than 120,000 automobiles in 2009. The speed of growth continues: in the first nine months of the current year, the sales plus in China alone has amounted to 65 percent. “Thus, Skoda has succeeded to establish themselves as an entry brand on the new markets as well,” Mr. Vahland emphasized. “Here, too, Skoda stands for space-oriented, functional, and practical automobiles for the entire family.”

In order to be able to continue to satisfy the strong demand, the brand invests intensively in the expansion of the dealership network, among other things. Thus, for example, the number of dealerships in China will increase from 250 today to 600 in the next five years.

Related posts:

  1. Audi maintains strong sales growth in February


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