Czech Auto Sales Continue Downward Slide In May

In the first five months of the year, sales of new passenger cars fell by 30.3 percent year-on-year due to a drop in demand because of the coronavirus pandemic. In May alone, sales declined by 44.4 percent year-on-year. The Association of Car Importers (SDA) announced today.

Unlike April, when dealerships were closed for most of the month, customers could physically buy cars in May. From this point of view, according to PwC analyst Michal Razim, the year-on-year decline of 44 percent appears to be very significant.

Sales to private individuals rose to 34 percent in May from 20 percent in January. Private sales accounted for 28 percent of all sales through May. In terms of fuel, gas-powered automobiles led with 66.6 percent of sales.

Škoda led the pack with 37.8 percent of total sales, selling 28,095 cars. A drop of 24 percent year-on-year. Hyundai came in second replacing Volkswagen, selling 6,552 cars a 3% drop from last year. In third place was Volkswagen selling 6,303 cars a 31% decline. Dacia came in fourth selling 3,438 vehicles, and Toyota is fifth selling 3,326.

The best-selling passenger cars are the Škoda Octavia with 8094 vehicles sold, the Škoda Fabia with 6264 vehicles, and the Škoda Scala with 2956 cars.

Registrations of light commercial vehicles fell by 30.1 percent to 5,916 units. In May, they fell by 38.3 percent year on year. The first is Volkswagen, with 784 cars, followed by Ford with 693 and Fiat, which sold 13 vehicles less. Truck registrations fell 41.3 percent to 2,662 vehicles. The first is the MAN brand with 481 registered cars, followed by Mercedes-Benz and DAF.

Bus sales rose 14.6 percent to 564 vehicles, up 62.6 percent in May. The first is the Iveco Bus brand with 186 buses, the second SOR, and the third MAN.

This year, the motorcycle category saw a 5.7 percent drop in sales to 8,083 units. In May, however, sales grew by 24 percent year-on-year. Honda came in first selling 1,569 motorcycles, followed by Yamaha, who sold 748 bikes, and finally, CF Moto sold 715 motorcycles.