Farewell, Skoda

If a car brand with sentiment and history fails to stay in the Chinese car market, there may be only one key reason, that is, lack of competitiveness. For example, Skoda, a century-old giant in the car industry.

Skoda is one of the four oldest car manufacturers in the world, founded in 1895, which is more than 100 years old. However, even such a car brand with a profound history has not been able to remain active in the Chinese market for a long time.

According to the latest sales data released by SAIC Volkswagen, in 2024, SAIC Volkswagen will sell 1.2 million vehicles throughout the year, including 1.144 million Volkswagen brand vehicles and 43,000 Audi brand vehicles.

Although Skoda's sales volume was not announced separately, netizens did some calculations and found that the total sales volume of 1.2 million minus Volkswagen's 1.144 million and Audi's 43,000 sales volume equaled 13,000 units. From this perspective, SAIC Volkswagen's decision not to announce its sales volume is also a helpless move, after all, the data is really not very impressive.

Many netizens who are familiar with Skoda’s history may know that Skoda was not so lonely before. It can even be said that it also shone in the Chinese market in previous years.

Skoda entered the Chinese market as early as 2005, and its first model, the Octavia, was officially launched in June 2007.

At that time, the Chinese automobile market was dominated by joint ventures. Coupled with Skoda's features such as hatchback trunk, independent rear suspension, and rich power options, the Octavia could often be seen on the road in those years, and Skoda's name could be said to be very famous.

Moreover, because it shares platforms and core components with SAIC Volkswagen, Skoda once gained the reputation of "cheap Volkswagen" in the market at a lower price, and its sales volume was once very impressive.

After 2010, Skoda accelerated its product layout, and many new cars quickly entered the Chinese market. Skoda ushered in a period of rapid growth.

In 2011, Skoda sold a total of 220,089 vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 10%, which provided strong support for Shanghai Volkswagen's annual sales record of 1,150,097 vehicles and also made an important contribution to the growth of Skoda's global business.

In 2017, Skoda launched its SUV strategy and launched its first mid-size SUV Kodiaq. In the same year, it also launched the compact SUV Karoq. The frequent launch of new cars has kept Skoda's sales growing steadily.

According to relevant data, in 2017, the Chinese market was Skoda's largest market, with annual sales of 325,000 vehicles; in 2018, its annual sales reached 345,000.

Unfortunately, Skoda did not maintain this state for long. After 2018, Skoda went from bad to worse. In 2019, it experienced a sales Waterloo, with annual sales plummeting by nearly 60,000 units to 282,000 units.

In 2020, its sales fell to 173,000 units; in 2021, it fell to 71,200 units; in 2022, sales were only 44,000 units. The sales volume has been declining year by year, which has also caused rumors in the car circle. Every now and then, we can hear rumors that Skoda will stop production and withdraw.

Skoda CEO Laws Zellmer also said at the end of 2022 that considering the fierce competition in the Chinese market, the company may only sell cars in China instead of producing them locally.

The glory of the past is real, and the current decline is also an established fact. What many people may not understand is why Skoda has come to this point?

In fact, like many joint venture brands that find it difficult to survive in the Chinese market for a long time, Skoda still has problems with its competitiveness.

From a brand perspective, Skoda is not a small brand on the 18th tier. But after entering the Chinese market, it has been living in the shadow of Volkswagen. "Cheap Volkswagen" has almost become synonymous with Skoda. Since it does not have an advantage in configuration and intelligence, and lacks obvious differentiation advantages compared to the Volkswagen brand, it is difficult to continue to attract mainstream Chinese car consumers in terms of brand influence and product competitiveness.

In addition, Skoda's precipitous decline coincided with the period when China's new energy development was accelerating and domestic brands were rising rapidly. During this period, more cost-effective domestic cars frequently entered the market, and Skoda's layout and product launch in the new energy field lagged behind significantly, and it was simply unable to meet the changes in market demand.

Up to now, we don’t seem to see any obvious moves from Skoda in terms of new energy vehicle models. If it does not follow the main direction of the market, it will easily be squeezed to the margins.

Today, Skoda is in an extremely awkward situation in the Chinese market. It seems that there is no need for it to stay in the Chinese market, but leaving the Chinese market will lead to its absence in this huge Chinese market.

Faced with the current situation, its top management is actually ambiguous.

At the end of 2023, Skoda CEO Zellmer said that the new models of Kodiaq, Skoda's main SUV sales force, will not be launched in the Chinese market. It is still uncertain whether Skoda will completely withdraw from the Chinese market in the future.

But in October last year, SAIC Volkswagen executive Fu Qiang said in an interview with the media: The Skoda brand is an integral part of SAIC Volkswagen.

From this perspective, it may still be a mystery whether Skoda can stay in the Chinese market.

In the current Chinese auto market, Skoda's survival status is just a microcosm of many joint venture brands. Now, joint venture cars in the Chinese market are facing a major reshuffle, and Skoda is not the only one in an awkward situation.

For example, GAC Mitsubishi, the almost forgotten DS, and even the many century-old brands under PSA.

The trend of the times is like the rising sun. If you miss it, you miss it. There are many reasons for this, but the fundamental reason is definitely the competitiveness of the product itself. In fact, no matter how many years a brand has been around, if it fails, it will fail. Even if you are a century-old brand, Skoda's situation has already explained everything.

Goodbye, Skoda.