Skoda’s management will discuss the way forward with Chinese joint venture partner SAIC-Volkswagen. According to Zelmer, Skoda wants to focus on India in the near future instead of China which is saturated with competitors. Additionally, its plans include expansion (including production) into Vietnam, whose automotive market has “significant growth potential.”
Judging by Zelmer’s statement, a possible scenario is the continuation of Skoda sales in China, but without local production. The brand has steadily increased assembly volumes in the country since 2007, when the first Octavia rolled off the assembly line at the Shanghai plant. 39 thousand cars were produced in China that year, and three years later it became the largest sales market for Skoda.
