Skoda Auto, a subsidiary of the Volkswagen Group, has sold more cars than ever in 2010 at 762,600 sold worldwide, as against 684,200 in 2009.

Ali & Sons Motors Division, UAE’s distributor of Skoda Auto, is optimistic that if recent worldwide sales growth is anything to go by, the Middle East market could well see a spike in sales this year.

“Besides the encouraging sales across several markets for the past year, Ali & Sons has exciting plans for 2011 to promote Skoda Auto in the UAE where the brand has a relatively low awareness compared to elsewhere in the region, and Europe for that matter,” said Mohamad Al Dhaheri, operations manager for Skoda in the UAE.

The top-selling model was the Octavia, while the Superb – launched by Ali & Sons to the UAE consumers in November last year – also experienced an excellent development in its segment, a statement said.

“Safety is one of the brand’s key aspects. The Skoda Superb 3.6 was top of the range in safety terms and safety tests conducted by the independent organisation, Euro-NCAP, who saw this model rake in five stars – the highest possible rating,” Al Dhaheri said.

Jürgen Stackmann, the Skoda Board member for sales and marketing, says Skoda’s sales in the growth markets of China, Russia, and India continued dynamically.

“We not only increases total sales to an all new record level in the year 2010, but more markets than ever have also reported new market share and delivery records than ever before,” Stackmann said.

“That gives us an outstanding basis for further growth in the coming years.  We plan to expand our activities in all markets and want to at least double our sales worldwide until 2018.  Skoda will still present several surprises this year,” he added.

In the important growth markets of India, China, and Russia, Skoda has clearly grown at double-digit rates.  In China, the largest automobile market of the world, sales have increased 47.3 per cent, reaching 180,500 units.

In Russia, 45,600 vehicles were sold (last year: 33,000), which is a 38 per cent increase, and a new record market share of 2.6 per cent.  In India, sales have risen to 37.7 per cent to about 20,000 vehicles.

“Skoda is considered one of the toughest and most reliable auto brands across the globe,” Al Dhaheri said.

“With the support of committed marketing efforts, inherent quality, safety and comfort features, and elegant designs, we hope to see the Skoda brand ranking as one of the most popular auto brands across all the emirates in the near future,” he concluded. – TradeArabia News Service