Škoda Auto’s non-consolidated net profit fell by 52 percent to CZK 15.2 billion last year. Non-consolidated sales decreased by 7.6 percent to CZK 424.3 billion. The reason for the decrease was the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on lower car production and sales and the development of exchange rates.
Car sales accounted for 81 percent of total sales. Deliveries of components and sets of disassembled cars to VW Group companies accounted for 10.6 percent of total sales. The trade-in original parts and accessories accounted for five percent of total sales.
“We expect that this year’s Škoda Auto result will improve compared to the previous year,” said Klaus-Dieter Schürmann, Member of the Board of Finance.
Investments excluding development costs fell in 2020 from CZK 32.1 billion to CZK 17.8 billion. Most of them went to product investments connected with the launch of new models, units, and batteries. Last year, Škoda spent CZK 18.5 billion on research and development of new products, CZK 7.7 billion less.
Last year, the Škoda Auto Group’s worldwide consolidated operating profit fell by 54.5 percent to 756 million euros, to approximately CZK 19.8 billion at the current exchange rate. Revenues decreased by 13.8 percent to 17.1 billion euros, which is about 448 billion crowns.
Last year, Škoda did not produce 39 days in domestic plants due to the restrictions associated with the fight against coronavirus, and its sales network also had limited operation. Deliveries to customers fell 19.1 percent last year to 1.005 million vehicles.
The best-selling model was traditionally the Octavia, of which the company delivered 257,400, which is a year-on-year decrease of 29.2 percent. Karoq and Kodiaq SUVs came in second and third, respectively. Škoda delivered the larger Kodiaq model 131,600, down 23.4 percent year-on-year.
Škoda delivered 137,200 of the smaller SUV Karoq to customers, representing a decrease of 10.1 percent compared to 2019. The highest year-on-year decline among models was recorded by Fabia, whose deliveries fell by 39 percent to 105,500 vehicles due to the end of the production cycle. On the other hand, deliveries of the Scala and Kamiq models increased by 61.7 percent to 63,200 cars and 99 percent to 128,500 vehicles.
In the Czech domestic market, deliveries to customers fell by 11.6 percent to 83,200 cars. In China, its largest market, Skoda, fell by 38.7 percent year on year to 173,000 vehicles delivered. In Western Europe, it sold 434,500 vehicles, down 16.5 percent year on year. In Germany, the brand’s second-largest market, a total of 161,800 vehicles were delivered to customers last year, a year-on-year decrease of 15.4 percent.
This year, the carmaker will introduce the fourth-generation Fabia, present the Enyaq electric model in a coupe version, and prepare modernized Kodiaq and Karoq models. The new Octavia Pro will come to China. In India, the company has already introduced the local Kushaq model.
“With responsibility for the regions of Russia and North Africa, we have taken on other tasks from the Volkswagen Group besides India. We will develop the next generation of the Superb model and the VW Passat model in Mladá Boleslav. The plant in Kvasiny will free up capacity for more than 150,000 Škoda cars, which we will use to increase production of our favorite SUVs and the successor to the Fabia Combi, “added Chairman Thomas Schäfer. The production capacity of the Enyaq model is to reach 350 cars per day this year. The company is also preparing another smaller electric vehicle on the MEB Group platform.
Škoda Auto operates three production plants in the Czech Republic. It manufactures cars in China, Russia, Slovakia, and India, primarily through group partnerships and Ukraine and Kazakhstan in cooperation with local partners. It operates in more than 100 markets.