Gasgoo.com (Shanghai July 10) - Shanghai Volkswagen's one millionth Skoda rolled off the assembly line of its Yizheng factory in Jiangsu earlier this week, auto.sina.com.cn reported today. It has taken Skoda only six years to manufacture its first million vehicles in China, a new record for a European brand operating in the country.
Following the sale of the first Chinese Skoda in 2007, the Czech manufacturer's initial performance in the country has been especially rapid. Skoda was especially fortunate to enter the Chinese market at a key period during its development. In its fourth year in the country, the manufacturer's yearly sales volume doubled. China also became the manufacturer's largest market in 2010. However, Skoda's performance slowed down over the following two years, when its yearly sales were unable to exceed 220,000 vehicles.
According to the development strategy stated by Jia Mingdi, sales and marketing executive director of Shanghai Volkswagen, Skoda branded models will constitute 30 percent of the joint venture's total sales volume. However, Skoda sales failed to meet that level in 2012, when Shanghai VW's sales totaled 1.28 million vehicles.
Out of every four Skodas sold worldwide, one is purchased by a Chinese consumer, demonstrating the importance of the country in the manufacturer's overall sales strategy. According to Karlheinz Hell, head of purchasing for the manufacturer, Skoda is aiming to sell a total of 1.5 million vehicles globally in 2018. A third of those sales will come from China. Chinese Skoda sales are expected to double over the next five years.
In order to fulfill these targets, Skoda has released the Rapid in China. The Yeti, alongside several model updates, will also be released before long. In order to complete its product lineup, Skoda has plans to release two to three models annually.
