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Paul McVeigh

Automotive News Europe -- November 2, 2010 15:03 CET

BERLIN -- Skoda expects to double its new-car sales to "at least" 1.5 million in 2020, driven by growth in China, India and Russia, CEO Winfried Vahland said.

Larger volumes at the Volkswagen AG-owned Czech brand will play an important role in helping VW reach its target of 10 million annual sales by 2018, thereby toppling Toyota Motor Corp. as the No. 1 global automaker.

"Skoda is ready for a new growth spurt," Vahland said on Tuesday at the Automobilwoche industry conference in Berlin. Automobilwoche is a sister publication of Automotive News Europe.

"We're looking to at least double sales by the end of the decade compared with today's volume. In 2020 we will sell at least 1.5 million cars," he said.

Vahland said new models and the expansion of production in its Czech home market and in China, India and Russia will help sales to increase. But the brand will not start selling its cars in the other BRIC growth market of Brazil, he said.

As part of a 10-year international growth plan, Skoda sales outside Europe will increase to make up half of the brand's volume from 30 percent today. Skoda calls the plan RS after the Czech words rust and strategie, which translate into "growth strategy." The brand also uses the initials RS for the range-topping versions of its cars.

Skoda sales rose 1.4 percent to 684,226 last year. This year's volume is expected to reach 750,000. In China alone, the Czech brand's sales grew 65 percent in the first nine months after more than doubling to 122,556 units in 2009.

Skodas 'not cheaper VWs'

Vahland said Skoda will remain positioned as a value brand and he dismissed analysts' suggestions that the carmaker cannibalizes sales from the core VW brand. Both brands share many technologies.

"A Skoda car is not a cheaper VW," Vahland said, adding that the company's own statistics do not show that Skoda wins sales at the expense of VW. "Our competitors are the Korean brands Hyundai and Kia," he said.

VW is losing 500 million euros in profit every year as the namesake brand's customers flock to cheaper models at Skoda and Spanish unit Seat, according to Ferdinand Dudenhoeffer, director of the Center for Automotive Research at the University of Duisburg-Essen in Germany.

Crossover between Skoda and VW-brand models contributed to Skoda's previous CEO, Reinhard Jung, losing his position to Vahland, Dudenhoeffer has said.

Built on the same technology platform, Skoda's Superb model sells for 2,500 euros less than VW's Passat while the Fabia compact is 1,695 euros cheaper than VW's Polo.<BR style="mso-special-character: line-break"><BR style="mso-special-character: line-break">

Vahland said Skoda will strengthen its position as the entry-level brand for the VW group and its brand positioning will remain as a carmaker offering roomy, functional and practical family vehicles that give value for money.

Vahland, 53, took charge of Skoda on Sept. 1 after five years as head of VW in China.

Bloomberg contributed to this story

The guy is talking out of his how can they be ready for a growth spurt when they can't keep up with the demand for the orders they get now??

Or does he think 20+ weeks is an acceptable wait for a new car? :think:

"Skoda is ready for a new growth spurt," Vahland said on Tuesday at the Automobilwoche industry conference in Berlin. Automobilwoche is a sister publication of Automotive News Europe.

"We're looking to at least double sales by the end of the decade compared with today's volume. In 2020 we will sell at least 1.5 million cars," he said.

how can they be ready for a growth spurt when they can't keep up with the demand for the orders they get now??

Agreed. I hear a Fabia VRS ordered tomorrow won't be built until March 11. Why even bother with the marketing campaigns and such if you haven't the goods to back it up.

Agreed. I hear a Fabia VRS ordered tomorrow won't be built until March 11. Why even bother with the marketing campaigns and such if you haven't the goods to back it up.

+1. the sole reason I didn't come back to Skoda was the ridiculous lead time to get a car.

There's going to be a lot of sales staff sitting on their hands. My local dealer had "nearly new" in the showroom recently as there was a lack of new stock. How can you sell if you've not got the goods to tempt people to part with their hard earned ?

If you generate a demand then you can raise prices & increase the profit on each unit sold, I think if demand continues we can see the prices customers are paying going up.

I feel a few companies are setting themselves up this way, they can see confidence trickling back to the market & as money supply eases more people will want to buy firming up the market are hardening prices. In the UK we have a few more months until the government cuts trickle through but they wont actually be that bad & the private sector is already through the worst,

Are buyers of LHD Skodas having the same long waits?

Are buyers of LHD Skodas having the same long waits?

Interesting to know, since the collapse of the pound against the euro & prices not going up to cover it theres possibly more profit for VAG in LHD cars

LHD and RHD units are built on the same production line, so I would have thought everyone has the same lead time.

LHD and RHD units are built on the same production line, so I would have thought everyone has the same lead time.

Agreed but if theres more profit in LHD the incentive is to build those

Autocars take on it all is here

Their focus isn't so much on the unit increase, more the future forced repositioning of Skoda by VAG to distance it a bit more from VW.

Sadly, it sounds to me like the current crop of cars, especially the Superb (which was so good the CEO got the boot for it!!), will be the high water mark of what the marque was capable of, and these models will all be well lamented in several years time when they are replaced with something not as good.

That's certainly easier than VW upping their game to keep the distance.

Niall

That's certainly easier than VW upping their game to keep the distance.

Well lets hope it is more of the case of VW going up than Skoda going down. The latest Passat now has adaptive cruise control, attention assist and a whole raft of things you previously only got on an Audi. So the Passat is for sure now technically more advanced than the Superb. So if the Superb more or less keeps its current spec relative to a Passat then no harm done in my book. But in saying that the Passat now has the same spec - if not better - than that of an Audi A4. So next Audi will be moaning about VW stealing their sales! So the cycle continues and when the Audi moves up (in spec), the Passat will and then the Superb will.

Remember in 1978 only the Mercedes S-class had ABS brakes. Now all cars have it. It is just how these things work - spec moves down from the top. So I don't think Skoda will turn into a Dacia overnight.

I hope they don't shoot themselves in the foot.

I have to admit historically I wouldn't have bought a skoda (or a vw for that matter) but I'm a true convert. Love my new vrs.

Fun, fast, practical.... What more could I want.

But skoda in my eyes compete with Renault, ford, etc etc.... Not the Korean brands.

Their last md gave us the Superd and yeti, there is a reason sales are improving, there great cars.

Don't change, just continue to do what your doing.