Czech Republic June 2013: Hyundai i30 at highest foreign share in 2 years, first study suggests Rapid cannibalised Octavia and Fabia

Hyundai i30

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Harsh landing for Czech new car sales, down 20% year-on-year in June to 14,482 registrations, which brings the year-to-date total to 80,818 units, down 14% on 2012. This month the leading Skoda trio reverts to market shares very close to their 2013 YTD levels: the Skoda Octavia is up from 8.3% in May to 9.7% vs. 10.2% year-to-date, the Skoda Fabia down from 7.9% to 6.6% vs. 6.7% while the Skoda Rapid improves from 4.8% to a best-ever 4.9% share thanks to 711 sales, to be compared with 4.2% year-to-date.

It would appear that the Skoda Rapid has cannibalised sales of Octavia and Fabia.

Exactly one year ago in June 2012, the Rapid launched at home in Czech Republic, so I thought it would be a good time to start looking at its impact on the rest of the Skoda range, in particular the Octavia and Fabia. In June 2012, the Octavia held 13.2% of the Czech market vs. 13.7% year-to-date, while the Fabia was at 7.7% and 8.6% respectively. Overall, Skoda holds 29.1% of the market in June 2013 vs. 30.6% in June 2012 and 29.5% so far in 2013 vs. 31% in 2012. So the first learning is that the Rapid has not helped Skoda gain market share, which can mean it has almost entirely cannibalised the rest of the range.

Looks like a natural evolution: Skoda Octavia I, Octavia II and… Rapid.

The Octavia lost 3.5 percentage points YTD (from 13.7% to 10.2%) while the Fabia lost 1.9 percentage point (from 8.6% to 6.7%). Add these two losses and you arrive at a combined 5.4% market share loss year-on-year, which is more than the Rapid’s market share so far in 2013 (4.2%). This is a very initial and basic study and the changeover between two Octavia generations at the same time, as well as the Fabia now getting a little old, may have biased the results, so I will do this again in a few months. But at this stage we can roughly say that the Rapid looks like it has “stolen” two thirds of its sales from the Octavia and one third from the Fabia. Again, this is assuming that buyers don’t move in and out of the Skoda brand which is incorrect, but an interesting first look indeed.

Hyundai ix20

In third position in June, the Hyundai i30 impresses at 643 sales and 4.4% share. This is the i30’s second best-ever share in the country below the 6.1% it reached in October 2010 and the best market share for a foreign model (even though the i30 is produced locally) since the Ford Focus hit 4.5% in June 2011. In fact, Hyundai manages to place no less than 3 models inside the Czech Top 7 this month: the i20 is #5 with 308 sales and 2.1% and the ix20 is #7 at 292 units and 2%.

Notice also the Peugeot 308 up 8 spots on May to #6 with 2% share (vs. 1.6% in France!), most probably due to run out prices before the new generation lands, the Dacia Sandero up a whopping 17 ranks to #16, the Seat Leon stable at an outstanding 18th place (vs. #142 over the Full Year 2012!), the Opel Astra up 9 to #19, BMW 5 Series up 26 to #36, Kia Carens up 38 to #53, Peugeot 2008 up to #65 and the Mercedes CLA up to #117.

Previous month: Czech Republic May 2013: Skoda fits entire range within Top 10 for the first time

One year ago: Czech Republic June 2012: Hyundai i30 shines, Skoda Rapid lands

Full June 2013 Top 150 models and Top 46 All-brands Ranking Tables below.