Home market sales of Czech car maker Skoda Auto fell 1.1% year on year to 54,571 units in the first nine months of 2003, from 55,190 units in 2002, an industry association said on Thursday, according to Dow Jones.
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Skoda Auto, a unit of Volkswagen, retained its top position in the market but saw its market share decline to 48.29% in the first nine months from 51.08% a year earlier, the report added.
Total domestic sales of passenger cars by all manufacturers rose 4.6% year on year to 112,998 units in the first nine months, from 108,046, the Car Importers’ Association, or SDA, said at a press conference, Dow Jones said.
The news agency reported that Skoda Auto domestic and international sales have been hurt in the last two years by the appreciation of the koruna against the euro which has led foreign car manufacturers to step up their sales campaigns in the Czech Republic and pushed up the price of Skodas for foreign buyers.
On Wednesday, Skoda Auto chairman Vratislav Kulhanek told Dow Jones Newswires he expects the Western European car market to show growth in 2004 and that he remains optimistic about sales in general.
Renault retained its No. 2 local car seller position in the quarterly car data, despite a 4.9% decline in its Czech sales year-on-year to 6, 372 units in the first nine months, from 6,703, the report said.
Peugeot, number three in market share, saw its sales rise 1.1% on the year to 6,319 units in the first nine months of the year, from 6,249, Dow Jones said, adding that sales of Peugeot-owned Citroen, eighth in market share, rose 3.4% year on year to 3,619 in the first three quarters, from 3,500.
Volkswagen increased its Czech sales 3.1% on the year to 5,790 units, from 5,616 units a year earlier, the report added.
One of the strongest gains in sales was recorded by General Motors unit Opel whose sales increased by an annual 13% year on year to 5,006 units in the first nine months, from 4,432 a year earlier, Dow Jones noted.
