Skoda reports 77,600 worldwide deliveries in April; 4. per cent down

Skoda achieved worldwide sales of over 77,600 vehicles in April 2013; 4.6 per cent down on April 2012. Skoda sales were also influenced by the start of production of the new Octavia and Octavia Combi back in April. Similarly, the continuing weakness of some
European markets had a knock-on effect on sales figures. Between January and April the Czech car manufacturer delivered over 298,000 vehicles worldwide; down 8 per cent on the same period last year.

"The new Skoda models have received a very positive response from our customers. Renewing and broadening our range of models will have a positive impact on Skoda sales for the rest of the year, even in some of the more difficult markets," said Skoda CEO, Prof. Dr. h. c. Winfried Vahland. "Due to the start of production of the new Octavia and Octavia Combi, we had anticipated that in the first half of this year, we would not achieve the same figures as this period last year," Vahland continued. "In addition to that, some markets are still under pressure, which we cannot completely avoid either."

In light of the introduction of 8 new or revised models, the Czech car manufacturer remains positive about the year as a whole.

In Western Europe, Skoda delivered 29,900 vehicles in April; 1.4 per cent down on April 2012 with 30,400. The brand saw significant growth in the UK (+16.4 per cent), Italy (+36.2 per cent), Spain (+12.9 per cent) and Portugal (+7.5 per cent). Skoda also did very well in the Scandinavian countries; in Denmark sales grew by 151.7 per cent, in Finland by 38 per cent and in Sweden by 46.4 per cent.

In Eastern Europe, Skoda achieved sales of 10,500 units in April (April 2012: 12,300; -14.3 per cent). In Russia, the Czechs sold 7,500 vehicles (April 2012: 8,800; -14.9 per cent). Between January and April, a total of 26,100 units were delivered to Russian customers (January to April 2012: 28,000; -6.7 per cent), making Russia once again Skoda's third largest sales market worldwide behind China and Germany in the first 4 months of 2013.

In Central Europe, Skoda reached a total market share of around 20 per cent with 10,800 vehicles sold (April 2012: 11,600; -6.8 per cent) On the Czech market Skoda delivered over 5,100 vehicles in April (April 2012: 5,500; -6 per cent). Skoda's market share in the generally week home market grew to 34.1 per cent (April 2012: 32.7 per cent).

Once again, Skoda's strongest market was China with almost 20,400 deliveries to customers in April. This represents a slight increase of 0.1 per cent over April 2012. The Czechs sold 78,100 vehicles to Chinese customers in the first four months of the year (between January and April 2012: 79,600; -1.9 per cent).

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