Czech car sales fell almost 14% year on year in the first nine months of 2009 following a 12% fall in the first half, according to the country’s car importers’ association.
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New car registrations from January through September fell to 133,577 vehicles as the recession hit consumer demand and forced companies to cut back or put off new purchases.
Importers’ association secretary Pavel Tunkl, said: “The third quarter is always a period of some rest among buyers… so when the overall numbers are negative, even a few percentage points drop deepens the loss significantly.”
He added that the association sees no upturn in the coming quarters, with stagnating sales expected next year.
The Volkswagen group’s Skoda Auto kept its grip on market share, but saw it slip to 27.6% from 31.1% in the same period a year ago. Ford and VW were the other top selling brands.
The Czech economy fell a record 5.5% in the second quarter, although it escaped from recession with a 0.1% quarter on quarter rise.
Companies have struggled to win back lost orders and have cut jobs, which has sent the unemployment rate to a three year high of 8.5%.
