Skoda has been very successful in China since the launch of its very first vehicle back in 2007 and the fact that more than one million of its vehicles ply on the Chinese roads underlines the success factor for the Czech auto giant. Skoda has favorably collaborated with Volkswagen as its production partner in China and has been rolling out cars from the Shanghai Volkswagen (SVW) plant ever since. Skoda plans to increase market share by doubling the range of products manufactured in the country along with gained production capacity.
Skoda is still bringing in new cars into the market and expects to post significant growth considering they achieved the one million milestone with only three models on offer. The new SVW production plant in Ningbo, Southern China took off production during the end of October this year and the first model to roll off the production lines was the Skoda Superb. This plant also produces the Yeti, Fabia, Octavia and the Rapid. In 2014, production of the new Skoda Octavia and the Rapid Spaceback will follow.
Since 2010, China has been Skoda’s strongest market. In 2012 alone, the automaker achieved a new sales record of 2,35,700 units being sold in China alone. In 2013, Skoda has sold 1,99,200 units from January to October. This easily corresponds to a quarter of the brand’s global sales. Collaboration with SVW has resulted in a reliable and competent partnership for Skoda and the million figure sales mark indicates the success story of this very collaboration. It awaits to be seen how Skoda will take on from here and capitalize on the market potential in China.
