Skoda sales down 12.9%, but electric Enyaq volume strong
Czech brand delivered 878,200 vehicles worldwide in 2021
Skoda CEO Thomas Schäfer has described 2021 as “one of the most challenging years in [the carmaker’s] history”, reporting a global sales decrease of 12.9% or 878,200 units.
It means the Czech firm failed to sell more than one million cars for the first time in eight years.
Amid the semi-conductor crisis and Covid pandemic which has affected the entire industry, almost every market is down for Skoda with one outlier: India, which has increased 108.9% compared to 2020 thanks to the introduction of the Kushaq mid-sized SUV.
Chinese sales were hardest hit with deliveries down 58.8%, while Western Europe was down a relatively modest 5.9% or 409,000 vehicles. The UK remains important for Skoda as the fifth most popular market, behind Germany, Russia, Czech Republic and China. 55,800 Skodas were delivered in the UK in 2021.
However, Skoda still achieved double-digit growth in a handful of smaller-volume countries: Portugal (1800 vehicles, +37.4%), Norway (9800 vehicles, +36.9%), Ireland (9100 vehicles, +21.8%), the Netherlands (19,300 vehicles, +19.0%) and Spain (24,600 vehicles, +17.0%).
The Skoda Octavia continues to be the firm’s biggest seller, but volume of the model dropped 22%. The models least affected by the downturn were the Skoda Fabia and Skoda Kamiq, whose deliveries dropped 6.0% and 6.1% respectively.
Despite the challenges, Skoda described “a strong start” for its first standalone electric vehicle, Skoda Enyaq iV, with almost 45,000 deliveries in 2021.
It predicts semiconductor supply to gradually improve in the second half of 2022 and positive impetus from new products, particularly the Enyaq Coupe iV and refreshed Skoda Karoq.
Skoda CEO Thomas Schäfer said: “The COVID-19 pandemic and the shortage of semiconductors have significantly slowed down our growth. Thanks to the flexibility and resourcefulness of the ŠKODA team, as well as the close cooperation with our suppliers, we managed to steer the company through the year successfully and deliver a respectable result.
“We expect the semiconductor supply situation to gradually ease in the second half of the year. I am looking ahead with confidence; we have many new products in the pipeline, including the Enyaq Coupe iV, we are experiencing very high customer demand, and we have a highly motivated team. Over the long term, the company is in an excellent position to emerge stronger from the transformation process.”