Despite the challenging events of 2020, “Damage“In Latvia, it has been able to increase its sales volumes, reaching 1938 units and thus improving the result of 2019 by 8.5%. In addition,” Škoda “was the most popular brand among private individuals last year, as well as the No. 1 brand among new passenger cars, excluding commercial vehicles registered as passenger cars of category M1.
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This increase allows the Škoda brand to rise to second place in the list of best-selling passenger cars and reach an unprecedented market share of 14.3%, increasing by 4.5 percentage points in 2020.
The year 2020 was special for the Škoda brand, as the company’s 125th anniversary was celebrated. Back in 1895, Vaclav Laurin and Vaclav Clement started this historical story in the Czech town of Mladá Boleslav.
The 125th year was full of events: the launch of the fourth generation of the Octavia, the worldwide launch of the all-new electric crossover Enyaq iV, and the addition of the Superb and Octavia to plug-in hybrid equipment.
The first months of the year in Latvia started very promising, the new “Škoda Kamiq” had just won “Latvian Car of the Year 2020, and customer interest in the model confirmed the jury’s assessment. In February, the second dealer in Riga, Verte Auto, the most modern and up-to-date Škoda dealer center in Eastern Europe, was solemnly opened. Over time, Škoda began offering its customers “build” your dream car in a virtual configurator, as well as buy a new car online without leaving home.
In the spring, which is usually the busiest part of the year in the sale of new cars, an epidemic reached Latvia and a state of emergency was declared in the country. These events affected virtually all industries, including new car sales. Already in March, new car registrations decreased by 34% and in April and May by 58% compared to 2019.
Restrictions and uncertainty about the future came into effect, affecting both companies ‘and individuals’ plans to make larger purchases. With the onset of summer and the easing of restrictions, consumer confidence also returned and the new car market gradually recovered, but was unable to fully recover. The deterioration of the epidemiological situation at the end of the year further affected the results for all car brands, and in 2020 only 13,522 new passenger cars were registered in Latvia, which is a 26% decrease compared to 2019 registrations.
Škoda’s sales were still dominated by Kodiaq (392 units), Karoq (254) and Kamiq (211) crossovers, which together account for 44% of deliveries. Every third Škoda car registered in Latvia is an Octavia (613). The fourth most popular Škoda model is the Scala (203), followed by the flagship Superb (158), leaving behind the small class Fabia (105) and Citigo (2).
Maris Jansons, Head of Škoda Importer Auto 100 in Latvia: “In the spring, Škoda Latvija, in cooperation with manufacturers and dealerships, made operative and significant changes to the offer structure in order to attract customers and be able to provide dealerships with work. At the same time, our invitation to several large leasing companies responded to this difficult situation by providing an attractive offer to the market, thus minimally affecting the number of dealers, which is the key to building successful long-term relationships with customers.In cooperation with major car financing companies, we created very competitive purchase terms for cars in stock, which made it possible to compensate for the decline in legal customer activity and gain new customers in the private sector, which also culminated in Škoda becoming the most popular brand among private individuals in Latvia.The new Octavia arrived at the height of the first wave of the pandemic, but a high-quality product and the attractive dating offer has allowed our most important model to enter the market, which together with the “Scala” occupies one third of the new compact car market on an annual basis “.
“The second highlight of the year was the global launch of the new all-electric crossover Enyaq iV in Prague on September 1,” Jansons continues. “Against the general offer of electric cars, this model will be very competitive. We look forward to April, when Enyaq iV will arrive at our dealerships and test rides will be available, as well as the first customers will receive their pre-ordered cars. We already see that In 2021, Enyaq iV will have limited availability and the car quota is likely to be insufficient to meet the desire of all customers to own or use them, “Jansons concludes.
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