The ongoing supply issues that have hobbled Skoda’s sales in Australia are set to ease soon, with the company’s local leader predicting an end to the global semiconductor shortage.
While the parts shortages and supply chain issues have impacted most manufacturers, Volkswagen Group brands including VW itself and Czech marque Skoda have been hit hard.
Lengthy delays and a lack of immediate stock have seen sales of both brands slide, with Skoda down by 41.6 per cent to the end of August this year compared with the first eight months of 2021.
Skoda has sold 4167 cars in 2022 against 7133 last year. There are wait times on most models, although there is some stock of certain models and variants available in dealers now.
Skoda Australia director Michael Irmer told CarsGuide that wait times vary by variant, with Octavia the worst impacted at the moment, while SUV models like the Kamiq, Karoq and Kodiaq are improving.
However, Mr Irmer said he sees an end to the nightmare supply issues and it could have an impact sooner than expected.
“We are expecting that the supply situation on the back of semiconductors will improve gradually and it should be entirely fully resolved by the midpoint of next year. But I think you will also see a noticeable improvement in quarter one [2023].”
He put a caveat on that statement, however, by acknowledging that the supply situation can change quickly.
“But it's difficult to make predictions for the future on this topic. Because I think a lot of people have sort of thought it's gonna be over much sooner, including me, and this has taken much longer.”
So dire is supply for the Octavia that Skoda dealers only sold eight examples in August of what was previously the most popular model in the Skoda range.
So far this year, Octavia sales are sitting at 732 units, down by 21.5 per cent on the same period in 2021. Given the relatively low volumes for medium passenger cars these days, the Octavia is still the third best-selling model in its segment behind the dominant Toyota Camry (7410) which is favoured by fleets and ride-share operators, and the Mazda6 (897).
The smallest car in Skoda’s stable, the Fabia light hatchback, is down by 82.6 per cent, but that’s due to stock of the old model running out in the lead up to last month’s launch of the new-gen model.
The Corolla-sized Scala small hatch has gone backwards by 64.9 per cent with 292 sales, but it picked up in August by an impressive 92.3 per cent.
Interestingly, one of Skoda’s best performers is the Superb, which is swimming against the tide of the declining large sedan segment. It has recorded 527 registrations so far this year, up 17.1 per cent. The only other model in the sub-$70,000 segment is the Kia Stinger which is also up by 60.9 per cent in 2022.
In terms of its SUVs, the Kamiq is Skoda’s top seller with 1029 units, down by 36.2 per cent, while the Karoq - which has just been updated with a mid-life facelift - has captured 515 sales, down 57.1 per cent.
The Kodiaq seven-seat SUV is sitting on 963 units which is 35 per cent down on January to August 2021 figures, and about 600 units behind its cousin, the Volkswagen Tiguan Allspace.
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