Recently, Volkswagen announced the delivery data of Skoda in the Chinese market in 2021, where 71,000 new vehicles were delivered last year.
What is the concept of 71,000 vehicles? Haval H6 and Nissan Xuanyi, the two top regulars in the sales list sell about 40,000 vehicles per month, which means that Skoda's annual sales are not as much as the two cars sold in each of them in two months.
Compared with his previous sales, Skoda is also Wang Xiao'er's new year is not as good as a year. In 2020, Skoda still has 173,000 sales, and in 2021, it will fall by nearly 60% compared with 2020, and no car company can resist this decline rate.
Sales for the full year of 2019 were 282,000 units, compared to 352,000 units in 2018. Annual sales went from 352,000 units in 2018 to 71,000 units in 2021, which is an extremely dangerous signal for ŠKODA.
Looking at the sales of specific models, Skoda's current model sales can be said to be a full line of crotch, and the previous owner Huadan Octavia will sell less than 15,000 vehicles in 2021, which is not enough for many brands of main sales models to sell for a month.
Skoda's best-selling model in 2021 is the Komick, and annual sales have not reached 20,000 units. Moreover, the annual sales of Kodiak on the same platform as Tiguan L are actually less than 2,000 vehicles, there is an old saying in China, Longsheng nine sons are different, while Tiguan L has sold more than 150,000 vehicles in 2021. Even if they are born by the same parents, there is such a big gap in sales.
Then again, those who have driven Skoda should understand that there is still a big difference between the two brands in terms of workmanship materials and body tuning with the same platform as the Volkswagen model. Before someone shouted out the slogan "those who understand the public have bought Skoda", now they can't hear it!
In terms of marketing, if any product wants to sell well, in addition to the product itself, advertising is also an important part. On mainstream and non-mainstream car websites, it is rare to see Skoda's brand releases, organize large test drives, and review of Skoda's models by the influencer Big V. Such low exposure is also an important reason for the sluggish sales.
In 2021, Ren Yun, the former manager of the marketing department of the Skoda brand of SAIC Volkswagen Automobile Co., Ltd., was suspected of serious violations of the law and was investigated, and Xie Jinhui, the former executive director of the unemployed marketing of the Skoda brand, was also investigated.
As the saying goes, the sea sails by the helmsman, and no good leader is disastrous for any brand.
Today, when various manufacturers are laying out electric vehicles, it is reported that Skoda plans to launch 6 pure electric vehicles and 4 plug-in hybrid models before 2025. Its fuel vehicles will also be upgraded in 2022.
In the rapidly changing automotive market, once many brands are left behind, I am afraid it will be difficult to keep up. Do you think Skoda still has a chance to fight a turnaround battle in the domestic market?