With growth of 24.6%, Škoda has increased its sales by almost 25% in the first two months of 2011, when compared to the same period last year. In total, the Czech manufacturer delivered over 132,000 vehicles to customers throughout the world in the months of January and February (Jan/Feb 2010: 106,000). After a strong first month, sales remained consistently high in February with over 63,000 units, surpassing the previous year’s February by 22.8%. The major growth regions of China, India, and Russia have each increased sales over the previous year. In terms of model sales, the Superb Estate (120.2%), Fabia Estate (36.8%), and the Yeti (36.7%) demonstrated highly dynamic growth.

“Škoda has got off to a running start and, in the first two months, has created the basis for solid growth in 2011. Particularly in the international growth markets, we are on a good path. For example, we more than doubled our sales in Russia in February,” explained Jürgen Stackmann, the Škoda board member for sales and marketing.

“The company has a lot of plans for the next few years and wants to at least double its sales until the year 2018. This custom-made start into the year is the right motivation. We gain additional tailwind from the fact that our customers recognise our optimistic mood and have also responded positively to our new corporate appearance and the new logo.”

Škoda continued to demonstrate great strength in its home market of the Czech Republic. Here, the company increased its leadership position, increasing market share to 37.2%. Sales increased 8.4% to 4,800 units. The top-selling model was the Octavia Estate, which increased 88.1% compared to the previous year, selling 1,200 units.

The Superb Estate and the Roomster have also enjoyed a growing popularity in the Czech Republic, with increases of 59.9% and 15.5% respectively.

In Central and Eastern Europe, Škoda achieved high levels of growth in February. In Hungary, sales rose 47.0%, in Poland 3.9%. The Western Europeanmarket continued to increase as well. Overall, Škoda sold 27,000 vehicles in Western Europe in February, meaning an increase of 15.6% on the previous year (February 2010: 23,800 units).

In China, the largest foreign market for Škoda, sales rose 20% to 14,400 units. In Russia, the company more than doubled its sales to 4,500 units meaning an increase of 105.8% compared to the same month in the previous year (February 2010: 2,200 vehicles). The models most in demand in the Russian market were the Octavia (150.5% increase) and the Fabia (170.8%). In India, Škoda grew significantly faster than the overall market, increasing sales by 50.8% to 2,400 vehicles.

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