Skoda records strong growth in Russia, India and Europe in first half 2021

Worldwide sales between January and June rose 20.8% year-on-year to 515,300 vehicles; India sales up 31 percent

By Autocar Pro News Desk

30 Jul 2021

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Skoda records strong growth in Russia, India and Europe in first half 2021

Against the backdrop of the ongoing challenges from the global Covid-19 pandemic and semiconductor shortages, Skoda Auto has increased its vehicle deliveries by more than a fifth in comparison with last year, in the first six months of the year. The carmaker recorded particularly strong growth in vehicle deliveries in Russia (+54.3%), India (+31.2%), Eastern Europe (+35.0%) and Western Europe (+30.9%).

In the first half of 2021, the Skoda Auto Group increased its sales revenue by 35.2% year-on-year to 10.199 billion euros (Rs 84,315 crore), while operating profit rose significantly by 327.2% to 974 million euros (Rs 8,052 crore) in the same time frame, also exceeding the figure for the pre-pandemic year 2019. The return on sales reached a very high level of 9.6% in the first half of the year.

Commenting on the results, Thomas Schafer, Skoda Auto CEO, said: “We can look back on a strong first half-year. Despite the semiconductor shortages and the impact of the pandemic, we even managed to improve on the results of the pre-pandemic year 2019. I would like to congratulate the entire Skoda team on this great performance! This has given us an excellent basis to successfully implement our new corporate strategy Next Level – Škoda Strategy 2030.”

From January to June, the Czech carmaker sold 515,300 vehicles to customers worldwide, 20.8% more than in the same period last year (H1 2020: 426,700 vehicles).

In Western Europe, Skoda recorded 237,900 deliveries in H1 2021, 30.9% more than in January to June 2020. In Germany, its largest single market, the company increased deliveries to customers by 19.4% year-on-year to 75,900 vehicles (first half of 2020: 63,600 vehicles).

In Central Europe, sales totalled 97,400 vehicles in H1 2021 (compared to 84,400 vehicles in H1 2020). In the Czech domestic market, Skoda increased deliveries by 11.7% to 44,000 vehicles.

In Eastern Europe excluding Russia, sales rose by 35.0% to 22,500 vehicles.

In Russia, the manufacturer delivered 52,800 vehicles from January to June, significantly outperforming not only the same period last year (first half of 2020: 34,200 vehicles; +54.3%) but also the pre-pandemic figures.

In China, deliveries to customers declined by 43.1% to 44,000 units in the first half of 2021 (same period in 2020: 77,400 vehicles). The main reason for this is the semiconductor shortage.

In India, Skoda Auto delivered 4,900 vehicles from January to June 2020 (first half of 2020: 3,700 vehicles; +31.2%). In June, Skoda Auto India launched the new Kushaq, the first product from Volkswagen Group’s India 2.0 project. The Kushaq is expected to give the brand speedier traction in the market.

In Turkey, the brand recorded strong growth in vehicle deliveries of 129.8% (first half of 2021: 17,600 vehicles; first half of 2020: 7,600 vehicles)

Model-wise sales in first half 2021
Octavia (121,000; +9.3%)
Karoq (75,500; +34.3%)
Kamiq (73,700; +40.4%)
Kodiaq (64,700; +6.5%)
Fabia (56,600; +17.7%)
Superb (40,100; +6.1%)
Rapid (37,900; +35.1%)
Scala (28,000; +2.5%)
Enyaq (14,600; -)
Citigoe iV (only sold in Europe: 3,100; -40.4%)

Tags: Skoda Auto