Skoda Sales Up 12.5% to Over Half a Million Units in First Half of 2014

“For the first time, we have sold more than half a million vehicles in a first half and that has been the result of a fantastic model range and an excellent performance across the team. This great result from the first six months makes us very optimistic for the second half of the year," said Werner Eichhorn, Skoda Board Member for Sales and Marketing.

Throughout 2014, the Octavia was by far Skoda's best selling model. In total 194,800 units of the sedan, estate, 4x4 Scout and hot vRS models were sold, an increase of 7.5%. The second best seller was the Fabia supermini, demand for which declined by 20% in the first half and 24.3% during June alone.

Meanwhile, the Superb flagship and Roomser MPV didn't fair much better, demand declining by 9% (46,400 units) and 10.2% (15,500 units). However, the Rapid sedan and recently launched Rapid Spaceback hatchback more than compensated with 102,400 deliveries, 166.7% more than in the same period of last year.

China is currently Skoda's biggest single market. Sales there increased 8.7 % to 130,700 units. Reaching a 10% sales target is crucial for their future growth, as Skoda is one of only two major foreign brands to decline during 2013. Skoda sold 227,000 units in China last year, 3.7 percent fewer than a year earlier, while the overall market grew by 16%.

No such problems over in Europe, where the automaker's affordably priced cars outpaced the market. In June, the brand delivered 39,100 vehicles, an increase of 9.4% to Western European markets. Demand in Germany was up 5%, while in the UK it grew by 12.2%. Skoda is doing well in Central Europe, where the brand grew by 27.6% to 78,600 vehicles in six month. However, demand in Russia has sharply fallen, taking the Easter European segment with it.

By the end of 2014, we expect over one million Skodas will be sold and are eagerly anticipating the launch of the all-new Fabia supermini.