Prague, (CTK) – New passenger car sales in the Czech Republic hit record-breaking 271,595 units in 2017, which is 4.6 percent more annually, with companies buying nearly 75 percent of the volume, according to data of the Car Importers Association released today.
Off-road sport utility vehicles were the most popular cars, accounting for nearly a quarter of the sales.
Medium cars (C-segment) made up 21 percent of the sales volume, the association said.
Sales were driven mainly by the economic growth accompanied by a wages rise and boom of companies, PwC analyst Vojtech Oplestil said.
This year’s sales are expected to increase by 3-8 percent to 280,000-293,000 cars, he said.
Oplestil thinks that the growth in 2018 will be smaller than in 2017 because the economy might reach some of its limits.
Czech car maker Skoda Auto sold 84,138 vehicles in 2017, which is the biggest number and a 2 percent increase, and Volkswagen and Hyundai rose by 1 percent to 26,942 and by 2 percent to 21,420 units, respectively. Ford and Dacia followed.
Skoda Octavia was the bestselling model with 27,051 sold units, Skoda Fabia ranked second with 21,281 and Skoda Rapid third with 12,407 cars.
Czech customers bought more petrol-fuelled cars, with their share adding 4 percentage points year on year to more than 58 percent.
Diesel engines, on the other hand, registered a drop of 5 percentage points to 38 percent.
The number of cars sold in December dropped annually by 9 percent, the association stated.
The December fall was likely caused by a lower number of working days compared to the end of 2016, which should be offset by higher numbers in January this year, the association’s secretary Josef Pokorny said.
Imports of used passenger cars rose annually by 4 percent to over 170,000 vehicles, with cars older than ten years accounting for 53 percent.
Sales of light utility vehicles went up by 0.8 percent to 19,398 units, with Peugeot selling 3,050 cars, Fiat 2,817 cars and Ford 2,285 cars.
The bestselling van was the Peugeot Boxer model.
New lorry registrations dropped by 9.5 percent to 10,008 vehicles, where Mercedes-Benz sold the most (2,178), followed by MAN (1,776) and DAF (1,410).
Bus sales decreased by more than a fifth to 804 units. Czech Iveco Bus company ranked first selling 304 vehicles, Czech SOR was second, and Setra was third.
The demand for motorbikes fell by a tenth to 16,045 units last year. Honda sold 2,643, Yamaha 1,118 and BMW 802 motorbikes.