10:58 am, June 15, 2017
SKODA enjoyed its best May in the company’s history after it saw deliveries rise by 2.4 per cent from 96,700 to 99,000 vehicles, with the UK market growing by nearly six per cent.
The Czech brand said it made significant gains, particularly in Europe and India.
The Kodiaq – its first new SUV model, pictured above – was in high demand, with 7,500 units delivered to customers last month, and the new compact Karoq SUV, which made its public debut in Stockholm in May, will follow in the fourth quarter of 2017.
Werner Eichhorn, board member for sales and marketing, said: ‘Skoda continued along the path to success in May. Despite the challenging market conditions in some regions, we were able to sell more vehicles last month than in any May in our history. We are particularly pleased with the successful market launch of the Skoda Kodiaq. The first vehicle of our SUV campaign has been very well received by our customers.’
In western Europe, Skoda surpassed last year’s May result with 42,800 deliveries (up by 4.1 per cent from 41,100). In Germany – the brand’s strongest individual European market – Skoda delivered 15,500 vehicles. It also recorded strong sales growth in the UK (7,000, up by 5.9 per cent), France (2,300, up by 13.5 per cent), Italy (2,600, up by 27.5 per cent), Sweden (1,600, up by 8.5 per cent), Austria (2,200, up by 5.9 per cent) and the Netherlands (1,400, up by 12.7 per cent).
In central Europe, it increased deliveries by 14.5 per cent to 19,000 vehicles. In the Czech home market, deliveries rose by 12.1 per cent to 9,100 vehicles. The manufacturer also made significant gains in Poland (5,700, up by 19.2 per cent), Slovakia (1,900, up by 10.0 per cent), Croatia (700, up by 74.6 per cent) and Slovenia (600, up by 5.2 per cent).
And in eastern Europe excluding Russia, Skoda increased sales by 9.9 per cent to 3,600 vehicles this May, with the Baltic States taking 700 vehicles (up by 25.0 per cent), Serbia (600, up by 16.5 per cent), Ukraine (500, up by 48.5 per cent) and Bulgaria (300, up by 11.3 per cent). In Russia, it recorded an increase of 5.9 per cent to 5,000 units.
It also saw a positive result in India, where sales rose to 1,300, which was 34.1 per cent up on last year.
However, China – which is the brand’s largest individual market – saw a drop of 6.1 per cent on May 2016 from 24,200 to 22,700 vehicles delivered. The manufacturer said the decline was mainly down to the ongoing revision of the model range and said it had expected this trend but anticipated things to return to normal in the second half of the year.
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