Skoda is planning to more than double its sales to "at least" 1.5 million units by 2020, according to company boss Winfried Vahland.
Speaking at an industry conference in Berlin, Vahland described the Czech car maker as being "ready for a growth spurt".
Read more on Skoda's record sales so far in 2010
The expansion plan will aim to dramatic increase sales in the company’s home market, as well as in China, India and Russia. Skoda sold over 684,000 cars last year, so exports will make up in half of sales in 2020, according to industry estimates.
Controversy flared up early this month, when senior sources at Skoda’s parent company VW, suggested that in future the brand would be repositioned to prevent it competing with VW itself.
Some analysts claim that Skoda’s previous boss, Reinhard Young, lost his position because Skoda models such as the Superb and Yeti were both better conceived and cheaper than their VW stablemates.
Read Autocar's road test of the current Superb
Vahland, however, strongly denies that Skoda is cannibalising VW sales, but is competing with Kia and Hyundai. However he says that future Skoda models will be value for money family vehicles that are functional and practical.
Skoda has benefited from considerable autonomy in recent years, allowing company engineers to mix and match VW technology and platforms to a much greater extent than other group brands.
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Re: Skoda plans to double sales
Hope they're not going down the BOGOF route.
Re: Skoda plans to double sales
would agree, although im not sure if a Golf driver would buy a Yeti, but the Yeti is definately better than the nissan quashqui for example
Through a lot of hard work and risk VW have put Skoda in a great position to increase sales by that degree and heres why....... i believe that Skoda has equal presitige to Ford,Renault, Peugeot, Nissan,Kia, Toyota etc and exceeds Vauxhall these days (Vauxhall has become a budget brand in my eyes) VW and Honda are still in a prestige league i feel.
who would ever have thought that going back to the Estelle days?
Re: Skoda plans to double sales
I think it's slow sales point less to the fact it's a petrol and not a diesel (like I think you have mentioned on other posts) and more about the fact the current Fabia looks like it got into a lift and the doors shut on it's face.