Škoda is a brand that is going well. At 21st for worldwide production, there is plenty of scope. Volumes are not helped by the fact that it is only strong in Europe and China. I think parent VW has missed an opportunity by not using it more. Renault has benefited immensely with Dacia and while Škoda isn't the same sort of budget brand, it still is more low cost than VW.
With over 60% of production in its home nation and much of the rest in China, Škoda is limited in its spread. It seems VW is the brand that the parent company wants to push more. Yet Škoda is more profitable and I believe that some within VW are not happy about. I read somewhere it was to do with the belief that Škoda was getting VW technology too cheaply.
It will be interesting to see how the emissions scandal will affect the Czech make as its diesels are affected too.
| 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | Nation | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | % |
| 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | Czech Rep | 630,285 | 571,541 | 596,347 | 639,207 | 60.9 |
| 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | China | 218,945 | 230,481 | 255,222 | 277,138 | 26.4 |
| 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | Russia | 43,725 | 58,741 | 67,217 | 80,476 | 7.7 |
| 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | Slovakia | 1,072 | 38,574 | 42,971 | 41,974 | 4.0 |
| 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | India | 19,806 | 35,555 | 15,310 | 10,887 | 1.0 |
| Total | 913,833 | 934,892 | 977,067 | 1,049,682 | 1.3 |
Data source: OICA.
No comments