ŠKODA AUTO CEO Thomas Schäfer explains: “We have made a strong start to the year and can look back on an excellent first quarter – despite fierce headwinds from the pandemic and the semiconductor shortage. I would like to thank the entire ŠKODA team, our social partner KOVO, as well as our importers and dealers for their outstanding commitment. We are also optimistic for the coming months; the first units of our all-electric SUV ENYAQ iV have been delivered and demand is exceeding our expectations. We also have some fantastic new products in the pipeline, including the new FABIA generation. Our recently launched NEXT LEVEL EFFICIENCY programme not only counteracts the negative effects of the pandemic and supply bottlenecks but also puts ŠKODA in a stronger competitive position in the long term.”
Klaus-Dieter Schürmann, ŠKODA AUTO Board Member for Finance and IT emphasises: “The very positive results of the first quarter show that we are financially on track. Our measures for reducing costs are proving effective. We have successfully mitigated the impact of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and especially the shortages of semiconductors while significantly increasing operating profit and net cash flow. The current result illustrates that ŠKODA AUTO is solidly positioned and sustainably profitable.”
Martin Jahn, ŠKODA AUTO Board Member for Sales and Marketing, adds: “We have increased our deliveries by 7.2% compared to the same period last year – a great success given the challenging conditions. The strong start to the year attests that our modern and attractive model range is very well received by our customers. And I am convinced that we will also attract many new customers to our brand with numerous new products throughout the year: In early May, we presented the fourth generation of the FABIA in the entry-level segment, followed by product updates of our best-selling SUVs KODIAQ and KAROQ. In India, we are launching our first compact SUV, the KUSHAQ, and in China, we are rolling out the recently launched OCTAVIA PRO.”
ŠKODA AUTO continued its recent positive development in the first quarter of 2021. From January to March 2021, sales revenue increased 4.1% year-on-year to 5.049 billion euros, with operating profit rising to 448 million euros. The return on sales is at a high level of 8.9%. This is significantly higher than the figures for the same period last year, which were negatively impacted by the pandemic-related production shutdown and the slump in sales.
ŠKODA AUTO Group* – Quarterly comparison of key figures, January to March 2021/2020**:
|
2021 |
2020 |
Change in % | ||||||||||||
| Deliveries to customers | cars | 249,600 | 232,900 | 7.2% | ||||||||||
| Deliveries to customers exl. China | cars | 223,300 | 203,900 | 9.5% | ||||||||||
| Production*** | cars | 239,700 | 223,400 | 7.3% | ||||||||||
| Sales**** | cars | 234,400 | 237,000 | -1.1% | ||||||||||
| Sales revenue | million EUR | 5,049 | 4,850 | 4.1% | ||||||||||
| Operating profit | million EUR | 448 | 307 | 46.1% | ||||||||||
| Return on sales | % | 8.9 | 6.3 | |||||||||||
| Investments in tangible assets | million EUR | 86 | 132 | -35.0% | ||||||||||
| Net cash flow | million EUR | 563 | 245 | 129.6% | ||||||||||
* ŠKODA AUTO Group comprises ŠKODA AUTO a.s, ŠKODA AUTO Slovensko s.r.o., ŠKODA AUTO Deutschland GmbH, SKODA AUTO Volkswagen India Private Ltd. and a share in the company OOO VOLKSWAGEN Group RUS.
** Percentage deviations are calculated from non-rounded figures.
*** Comprises production in the ŠKODA AUTO Group, excluding production at partner assembly plants in China, Slovakia, Russia and Germany, but including other Group brands such as SEAT, VW and AUDI; vehicle production excluding part/complete kits.
**** Comprises ŠKODA AUTO Group sales to distribution companies, including other Group brands such as SEAT, VW, AUDI, PORSCHE and LAMBORGHINI; vehicle sales excluding part/complete kits.
From January to March, ŠKODA AUTO delivered 249,600 vehicles to customers worldwide (first quarter of 2020: 232,900 vehicles; +7.2%).
In Western Europe, the Czech car manufacturer recorded 111,600 deliveries in the first quarter, an increase of 4.6% (January to March 2020: 106,700 vehicles). ŠKODA also increased deliveries in Germany, its second-largest single market, by 2.3% year-on-year to 36,600 vehicles (January to March 2020: 35,800 vehicles). ŠKODA achieved double-digit growth in Italy
(8,600 vehicles; +39.2%), France (8,600 vehicles; +44.3%), Spain (6,300 vehicles; 32.8%) and Belgium (5,500 vehicles; +10.6%).
In Central Europe, ŠKODA delivered 46,900 vehicles in the first quarter of the year, confirming the success of the same period last year (January to March 2020: 46,900 vehicles; -0.1%). In its domestic market, the Czech Republic, deliveries to customers fell 8.0% to 19,600 vehicles in the same period (January to March 2020: 21,300 vehicles).
In Eastern Europe excluding Russia, ŠKODA delivered 10,200 vehicles from January to March, a year-on-year increase of 17.1% (January to March 2020: 8,700 vehicles).
In Russia, ŠKODA recorded 22,800 deliveries to customers in the first quarter, corresponding to an 8.6% increase over the same period last year (January to March 2020: 21,000 vehicles).
In China, the manufacturer’s largest single market worldwide, deliveries to customers dropped 9.3% to 26,300 vehicles in the first quarter (January to March 2020: 29,000 vehicles).
In India, deliveries to customers rose to 3,200 vehicles from January to March, up 4.1% year-on-year (January to March 2020: 3,100 vehicles).
In Turkey, ŠKODA recorded the strongest increase in vehicle deliveries to customers worldwide in the first quarter of 2021. With 9,800 units, the car manufacturer grew 162.1% over last year in this region (January to March 2020: 3,800 vehicles).
ŠKODA brand deliveries to customers in the first quarter of 2021 (in units, rounded off, listed by model; +/- in per cent compared to the first quarter of 2020):
ŠKODA OCTAVIA (63,600; +2.0%)
ŠKODA KAROQ (36,600; +21.1%)
ŠKODA KAMIQ (34,700; +36.1%)
ŠKODA KODIAQ (33,300; -1.0%)
ŠKODA FABIA (25,800; -5.5%)
ŠKODA SUPERB (21,900; +1.1%)
ŠKODA RAPID (18,600; +31.0%)
ŠKODA SCALA (12,500; -13.7%)
ŠKODA CITIGOe iV (only sold in Europe: 1,900; -40.2%)
ŠKODA ENYAQ (500; -)