Czech car sales rise 7% in September

Car sales rose 7 percent in September compared to a year ago, but the total number of sales for 2020 over the first three quarters is down 22 percent. Market observers warn that there was a big drop in car sales last September in connection with the introduction of strict new emissions guidelines. The Czech Statistics Office found that companies bought 72 percent of all new cars, with Skoda Auto leading the pack with 39 percent market share. Its biggest seller continues to be the Octavia, which sold more than 15,000 of over so far this year, while Skoda sold 12,000 Fabias. But the only Skoda model in the top three that saw an increase of sales was the Scala hatchback. Hyundai's i30 is the most popular non-Skoda vehicle but came in sixth so far in 2020.