AutoBeta(AutoBeta.net)10/16 Report--

Skoda brand dealers popular publicity of such a phrase-"understand the public to buy Skoda", but the reality is that less and less people understand the public.

Skoda released sales figures today, with global delivery of 913700 vehicles in the first nine months of this year, down 2.7 per cent from a year earlier, mainly due to a further decline in sales in China, Skoda's biggest decline.

In September, Skoda delivered 25300 new cars in the Chinese market, down 17.2% from a year earlier; cumulative sales in the first three quarters were 194500, down 22.3% from 250200 in the same period last year.

"in the first three quarters of this year, we delivered 913700 cars worldwide," said Alain Favey, Skoda's sales director. Due to the strong growth in the European and Russian markets, we can make up for the current decline in the Chinese market. " His words were obvious and he was very dissatisfied with the performance of the Chinese market.

According to separate data, Volkswagen sold 287000 vehicles in China in September, up 3.3 per cent from a year earlier, while cumulative sales in the first three quarters were 2.1976 million, down 2 per cent from a year earlier.

Volkswagen brand sales remained stable, while Skoda showed a big decline, which may also confirm that "those who understand Volkswagen do not necessarily buy Skoda."

Cumulative sales in the passenger car market this year reached 14.782 million from January to September, down 8.6 per cent from a year earlier, according to the Federation of passengers. Skoda, a joint venture brand, fell by 22.3%, far outpacing the overall passenger car market.

Skoda brand gradually weakened in recent years, missed the hot SUV tuyere, product features are not prominent, resulting in a low sales base, and a large decline.

Some industry insiders believe that Skoda's market competitiveness advantage is not very obvious, and in the past few years, it has not included "localization" into its business strategy in the Chinese market, resulting in missing the golden period of development in the Chinese market. It was not until last year that three exclusive SUV models such as Cormick, Kolok and Kodiak GT were launched, but the upsurge in the mainstream SUV market has long since subsided.

Skoda is selling about 10 models, the product line is not long, but the mainstream models are basically covered, can really form a volume or hot-selling models are not.

Today, Skoda brand is not only facing the dilemma of declining sales, but also consumers' recognition of Skoda brand and product power is also declining. In other words, consumers may not be able to recognize Skoda's current product line models.

Not long ago, foreign media reported that Volkswagen Group is about to adjust its brand strategy, Skoda brand will penetrate into the low-end market, while Seattle brand will develop to the high-end market. Specifically, Skoda will focus on Eastern Europe and developing regions, configuration will give up some high-end configuration to improve performance-to-price ratio, compete for entry-level market share, while reducing direct competition with the main brand public.

It is worth noting that FAW-Volkswagen has established an independent "Jetta" brand this year to further infiltrate the low-end market, with sales of 10,000 units in September in the first month of listing, which shows the potential of Volkswagen Group to enter the low-end market. Skoda's position in the Chinese market is closer to Jetta, and it is expected to enter the ranks of adjusting market positioning in the future. However, it is not clear whether Volkswagen Group's brand strategy adjustment will affect the Chinese market.

Perhaps, price reduction and sales protection is a way out for Skoda's sustainable development in China.

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