AutoBeta(AutoBeta.net)11/27 Report--

According to the insurance figures, Shanghai Auto Skoda sold a total of 38022 vehicles from January to October in 2022, down 61.32% from the same period last year, of which October sales were 2953, down 11.43% from the same period last year. In addition, SAIC Skoda's annual insurance sales fell 21.67 per cent year-on-year to 114763 in 2021 and 43.35 per cent to 157861 in 2020.

Skoda is the third-largest brand by sales in Volkswagen Group, but none of the eight models sold by Skoda brand in China has exceeded 20,000 since 2022. In terms of specific models, the Ming Rui is Skoda's best-selling product, with sales of 8593 vehicles in the first 10 months of 2022, down 54.81 per cent from a year earlier. Sales of Cormick and Xinrui were 8290 and 6504 respectively, down 62.67 per cent and 64.25 per cent respectively from a year earlier. In addition, Kodiak is 3866, speed dispatch is 2412, Klock is 5311.

As an once-popular model of the brand, Ming Rui ushered in a replacement in 2021. The new car is based on the Volkswagen MQB-EVO platform, the exterior and interior are redesigned, and the wheelbase is also more than the overseas version. At the beginning of the launch, Skoda brand was eager for new cars, such as the Honda Civic and Toyota Corolla. However, the launch of the new bright sharp could hardly drive the growth of the brand, with sales falling 54.81% year-on-year to 8593 vehicles. The bright sharp Pro, which is the same as the eighth generation of golfers, can not even catch up with the Carola in a month.

Skoda is one of the brands of the German Volkswagen Group, headquartered in Mlada-Boleslav, Czech Republic, is one of the four oldest automakers in the world. Skoda sold 878200 vehicles worldwide in 2021, down 12.6 per cent from a year earlier, according to official figures. As the largest automobile market in the world, Skoda performs poorly in the domestic market. As the layout of SAIC-Volkswagen in the middle and low-end market, its sense of existence in the domestic market is getting lower and lower. Skoda sold only 71200 vehicles in China in 2021, down 58.8 per cent from a year earlier, according to official figures.

In April 2005, Mr. KODA AUTO partnered with Shanghai Volkswagen Automobile Co., Ltd. to open the way for Skoda to make its own cars. In September 2006, the automobile KODA brand was officially launched, announcing its Chinese name "Skoda" and becoming the second brand under SAIC-Volkswagen. In June 2007, SAIC Skoda's first strategic model, Octavia Mingrui, was officially launched. In December 2008, SAIC Skoda's second model, Fabia Jingrui, was officially launched. In August 2009, SAIC Skoda's second model, Superb Speedway, was officially launched.

Since Skoda entered China, it has been endorsed by "German quality". The label "Shanghai Volkswagen Skoda" has become a symbol of Skoda's status in the Chinese market, even though it is a Czech car brand acquired by Volkswagen Group. Especially after entering 2010, Skoda accelerated its product layout, growing rapidly from three to six, bringing significant sales growth to Kodak. Skoda had 1.8% of the market share in China as of 2016. It can be said that the decade from 2005 to 2016 was Skoda's best time in the Chinese market.

In order to gain more voice, Skoda bought a stake in SAIC Volkswagen. In July 2016, the tail mark of Skoda domestic model changed from "SAIC Volkswagen" to "SAIC Skoda", in order to strengthen the uniqueness of Skoda brand. Skoda began to change its product development strategy after the change of the standard, and no longer take the ratio of performance to price as the publicity point. In 2017, SAIC Skoda launched the SUV strategy. In April 2017, the first medium-sized SUV Kodiak was officially launched. In November 2017, the new compact SUV Klock was officially launched. In June 2018, the new compact SUV Cormick was officially launched. However, as Volkswagen introduces more and more domestic products and the rapid rise of Chinese independent brands, Skoda is gradually declining in sales. Skoda sold 333000 vehicles in China in 2017, up 0.8 per cent from a year earlier. At this time, Skoda's sales in China have shown signs of slowing down. According to the data, Skoda's sales in China from 2019 to 2021 were 282000, 173000 and 71200 respectively.

The year 2020 marks the 125th anniversary of Skoda's birth, the 15th anniversary of Skoda's entry into the Chinese market, and the year of achieving 3 million sales in the Chinese market. However, in this remarkable year, Skoda got off to a bad start and the huge impact of the epidemic on the domestic car market doomed Skoda to have few expectations in terms of sales.

In order to achieve its goal as much as possible, SAIC Skoda held an online press conference on April 22, 2020 to announce the downgrade of its entire department, with a reduction of up to 24500 yuan. At the same time, the manufacturer also provided a zero-interest credit and financial policy covering the whole range of models, as well as a stronger second-hand car replacement support program, which opened the prelude to the first wave of joint venture brand promotion in the post-epidemic period.

However, the effect of "price for quantity" is not significant. According to the data, Skoda sold only 13400 vehicles in June 2020, down 36.01 per cent from a year earlier. In fact, the crux of Skoda can not be solved by price reduction. Skoda, which has its own "German halo", has not been really accepted by the market and domestic consumers since it entered the country, and the root is basically unstable. Coupled with the intensification of competition among brands within Volkswagen, Skoda's sales have not appeared a "highlight moment" after a brief sales rise.

Affected by the epidemic, many brands have no choice but to withdraw from the Chinese market in the first half of this year. On April 27th, the China Automobile Circulation Association released the Development report of China Automobile Circulation Industry 2021-2022. About 1400 4S sales and service networks will be withdrawn from the net in 2021, with joint venture brands accounting for 57%. Mainly Beijing Hyundai, Buick, Dongfeng Peugeot, Guangzhou Auto Fick, Skoda and so on, these joint venture brands have a low sense of presence in the market, or even inferior to independent brands. Prior to this, GAC Fick's two major shareholders have announced the termination of domestic, its Jeep will be converted to imported brands.

2022 is destined to be another year of twists and turns for Skoda, and if nothing happens, it will decline for five consecutive years. In the current market, Skoda does not have much market stock space, no matter from the product, brand or price.

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