ŠKODA AUTO increased its global deliveries to customers by 7.2% to 249,600 vehicles from January to March 2021 compared to the same period in 2020. Sales revenue totaled 5,049 million euros, a 4.1% increase compared to the same period last year.
The ŠKODA AUTO Group’s operating profit was 46.1% higher than the previous year at 448 million euros, with a sales performance reaching a high level of 8.9%. The company continues its positive development from the second half of 2020.
ŠKODA AUTO CEO, Thomas Schäfer, stated, “We have had a good start to the year and can look back on an excellent first quarter, despite the headwinds of the pandemic and semiconductor shortages. I would like to thank the entire ŠKODA team, our social partner KOVO, as well as our importers and distributors for their outstanding commitment. We are also optimistic for the coming months; the first units of our fully electric SUV ENYAQ iV have been delivered, and the demand exceeds our expectations. We also have fantastic new products in development, including the new generation FABIA. Our recently launched NEXT LEVEL EFFICIENCY program not only counteracts the negative effects of the pandemic and supply chain bottlenecks but also positions ŠKODA for a stronger long-term competitive stance.”
Klaus-Dieter Schürmann, ŠKODA AUTO Board Member for Finance and IT, emphasized, “The very positive results of the first quarter show that we are financially on track. Our cost reduction measures are proving effective. We have successfully mitigated the impact of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and especially the semiconductor shortage while significantly increasing operating profit and net cash flow. The current result illustrates that ŠKODA AUTO is solidly positioned and profitable sustainably.”
Martin Jahn, ŠKODA AUTO Board Member for Sales and Marketing, added, “We increased our deliveries by 7.2% compared to the same period last year, a great success given the challenging conditions. The strong start to the year demonstrates that our modern and attractive model range is very well-received by our customers. I am confident that we will attract many new customers to our brand with numerous new products throughout the year: in early May, we introduced the fourth generation of FABIA in the entry-level segment, followed by product updates of our best-selling SUVs, KODIAQ and KAROQ. In India, we are launching our first compact SUV, the KUSHAQ, and in China, we are introducing the recently launched OCTAVIA PRO.”
In the first quarter of 2021, ŠKODA AUTO continued its positive development with a 4.1% year-on-year increase in sales revenue to 5,049 million euros, achieving an operating profit of 448 million euros. The sales profitability stands at a high level of 8.9%, significantly higher than the figures from the same period last year, which were negatively impacted by pandemic-related production shutdowns and sales decline.
From January to March, ŠKODA AUTO delivered 249,600 vehicles worldwide.
In Eastern Europe, the Czech automaker recorded 111,600 deliveries in the first quarter, a 4.6% increase (January to March 2020: 106,700 vehicles). ŠKODA also increased deliveries in Germany, its second-largest single market, by 2.3% year-on-year to 36,600 vehicles (January to March 2020: 35,800 vehicles). ŠKODA achieved double-digit growth in Italy (8,600 vehicles; +39.2%), France (8,600 vehicles; +44.3%), Spain (6,300 vehicles; 32.8%), and Belgium (5,500 vehicles; +10.6%).
In Central Europe, ŠKODA delivered 46,900 vehicles in the first quarter of the year, confirming the success of the same period last year (January to March 2020: 46,900 vehicles; -0.1%). In its home market, the Czech Republic, deliveries to customers fell by 8.0% to 19,600 vehicles in the same period (January to March 2020: 21,300 vehicles).
In Eastern Europe excluding Russia, ŠKODA delivered 10,200 vehicles from January to March, a year-on-year increase of 17.1% (January to March 2020: 8,700 vehicles).
In Russia, ŠKODA recorded 22,800 deliveries to customers in the first quarter, corresponding to an 8.6% increase compared to the same period last year (January to March 2020: 21,000 vehicles).
In India, customer deliveries increased to 3,200 vehicles from January to March, a 4.1% year-on-year increase (January to March 2020: 3,100 vehicles).
