Strong competition and the growing popularity of Chinese brands on the domestic market are the main reasons why Škoda Auto will consider whether to stop producing its cars in China. Škoda Auto could focus more on India.
The end of the car company is uncertain
“The competition there is very intense, so together with our Chinese joint venture partners we will consider how we can proceed,” said Škoda Auto CEO Klaus Zellmer in an interview with Automobilwoche.de. Zellmer did not rule out that Škoda Auto will eventually remain on the Chinese market, but only as an importer of cars. That is, it would no longer manufacture its cars in China, but only sell them there.
Škoda Auto to focus on India
“If we want to focus our energy, we need to examine all scenarios and then make a decision,” said Klaus Zellmer. Škoda Auto intends to focus more on India, he said. The carmaker suffered relatively large losses by withdrawing from Russia because of Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine. Russia was the second largest market for Škoda Auto with 90,000 vehicles sold annually.
In 2018 and 2019, China was still the largest market for the Mladá Boleslav-based carmaker. Four years ago, it sold more than 340,000 cars here, last year it sold just 71,000. The decline is also due to covid.
