[TusharK]

India has become the third-largest market for Skoda globally. The Czech brand sold 51,865 cars in 2022, a 128% increase over the previous year.



India is now the largest market for Skoda outside Europe. However, Germany remains at the top with 1,34,300 units, followed by the Czech Republic, where the brand sold 71,200 cars. The UK and Poland complete the top 5 with 50,000 and 45,000 units, respectively.



Skoda witnessed a turnaround following the launch of the Kushaq and Slavia. In 2022, it became the 9th largest brand in terms of sales in India. Globally, the carmaker sold 26,800 units of the Kushaq and 20,900 units of the Slavia.



As part of the ‘Next Level - Skoda Strategy 2030’, the brand is now planning to increase its presence in Southeast Asia by entering the Vietnam market, where it aims to sell 30,000 units annually. It is setting up a CKD assembly unit in the country, which is expected to begin operations in H1 2024. CKD kits from Skoda’s Pune plant will be assembled here.

From 2023, Skoda will also import a range of models, including the Karoq, Kodiaq, Octavia and Superb. Post 2025, the company plans to introduce the Enyaq iV and Enyaq Coupe iV in the Vietnam market. It aims to sell 30,000 units annually.

Link to Team-BHP News

[SaiSW]

Good for them. Many a time, I see reports of "X" manufacturer making great strides in this country but then I don't really see their cars much in my state. That is not the case here, with VW 2.0.

I really can see their growth in the areas where I live. The number of VW cars I've seen here have grown exponentially since the start of their new strategy. There are three new 2.0 VW/Skodas in my apartment parking block alone - two Kushaqs and a Virtus.

Earlier VW used to be a niche/luxury category here, sort of only for people who are ready to take risks, but now I'm seeing more and more people add VW/Skoda cars to their shortlists (and eventually to their homes) as a viable trustable option rather than a curious risky one.

I just hope they don't rest on their laurels now like Ford did after the Ecosport turned out to be a smash hit.

[anjan_c2007]

With this new development let us hope that their hitherto known for wrong reasons, authorised dealers in India do scale up the sales and service network charts of car makers to reach the #3 ranking.

[SuperV]

Good news indeed.
I feel happy about two things.
1. People are going for better engineering and trusting Skoda more than before.
2. With Slavia and Virtus, sedans are making a well deserved comeback.
I have honestly gotten bored of these oversized hatchbacks with 'harrier'ized headlamps masquerading as SUVs.

This seems like a perfect setting for Verna to steal some of this spotlight. Hope Honda comes out of their 'premium' illusion and prices the City competitively.

[CafeRacer16]

This is good news however it will be interesting to see how Skoda manages to keep the sales momentum going considering they essentially have a 3 product portfolio & sales of Kushaq & Slavia seem to be plateauing around 3500 cars/month.

It will be great if they launch updated Kushaq & Slavia with all the fixes of current issues & perhaps add a sub 4m car to the portfolio.

From current owners perspective, it seems that Skoda would stay in India hence no issues of at least the parts in near future.

[shobhit.shri]

I still wonder why ŠKODA doesn't bring Karoq to India with a bigger engine and sells it alongside Octavia.

[nik0502]

Interesting point to note is that except India their sales have fallen in almost every country. That is clearly a sign of worry. Skoda is my favourite car brand. Gen 1 Octavia was my favourite car at that time and every generation of Octavia has been my favourite still I picked up a Civic over Laura just for peace of mind. Also the total sales they have worldwide Suzuki manages more than that in six months in India only. Yes India 2.0 has been positive for Skoda. But I still think they are far behind then where they should have been. Such low volume make the manufacturer price their product higher than usual to survive which is bad for consumers as well as for business. I hope they’re able to come with a strategy to bring volumes.

[udzgodfather]

Skoda's and VW's are 30L luxury cars for half the ticket price, be it with Rapid or Vento earlier or now Slavia or Virtus. The value for money this cars hold is amazing.

VW 2.0 should work harder on its service and dealer network, most of previous owner rarely complain about the car, its more about the dealer network or not getting good service at the service center.

People understand that cars break down and sometimes need visits to the service centers, what baffles them is the long wait for part supply and repair, way too expensive spare parts and shody/poor service jobs by the service centers.

For a country known for its quality of machines, selling 2.5 times the cars it sells in India, definitely speaks good quality and good performance of cars.

[MotorDev]

Skoda and VW cars have a lot of potential to sell in good numbers. The VAG and Skoda cars (especially 2.0 cars) are brilliant cars but there are problems due to which the good cars don't translate into good numbers. Even though it might be good growth percentage for The VAG group in numbers, the cars have way more potential to sell.

[amitayu]

51,000 cars globally?

More than worrying about Skoda leaving India, I am worried the company may shut down gobally!!

[@PetrolheadASH]

Skoda certainly makes good cars. They are safe, have great looks and features and can put a smile on your face. If only they sorted out issues related to non/ low availability of spare parts, expensive spares and general after sales support issues (which they are trying to do), they can really make a truck load of money here.

[DicKy]

Originally Posted by amitayu

51,000 cars globally?

More than worrying about Skoda leaving India, I am worried the company may shut down gobally!!

51,000 in India. 7,00,000 globally.

Not really. VAG products already have economies of scale and extensvie parts sharing, so even if numbers are lower compared to other companies, it may not be hurting them much.

[gururajrv]

Good news for sure. However, time will tell if Skoda will take Indian market seriously or will just remain content with their current range of products and just launch editions of Slavia / Kushaq now that Octavia / Superb will be out of the equation.

Congratulations to Skoda, nevertheless!

[thanixravindran]

Though Indian numbers have more than doubled and did a good job with Kushaq/Slavia, the third largest market is mainly because of the hammering in Russian and Chinese markets due to war and slowdown.

Looks like their strategy is correct to get into more developing markets like Vietnam apart from India in addition to the EV line-up in the coming years.

[goacom]

Originally Posted by amitayu

51,000 cars globally?

More than worrying about Skoda leaving India, I am worried the company may shut down gobally!!

Where did you get 51,000 globally? That is for India only.
No chance of Skoda shutting down anytime. They are part of the VW group which is the #2 automaker in the world. Since their vehicles are mostly badge engineered VWs, they enjoy VW's huge economies of scale.

The problem with Skoda and many of the western auto companies is not India, but China. China's BEV are killing it and are making it hard for the traditional companies to compete. Even Tesla is having a fight on its hands against companies like BYD.