Volkswagen's Skoda Auto Plans Southeast Asia Expansion After India Surge

Skoda Auto AS, the Czech Republic’s largest manufacturing company, plans to expand into Southeast Asian markets after more than doubling its car sales in India last year, according to Bloomberg.

The Czech brand of Volkswagen AG is looking for new markets after the entire German group ceased operating in Russia last year. While a lack of chips curbed Skoda’s global deliveries in 2022, higher price tags meant that its revenue jumped 19 percent to €21 billion ($22.3 billion), and India became the company’s third-biggest market with deliveries soaring 128 percent from a year earlier.

Skoda now plans to start importing finished cars to Vietnam and launch an assembly line in the country in 2024, according to a statement on Thursday. The company also plans to boost sales in the Middle East.

“Skoda Auto regards Vietnam as a strategic gateway into the ASEAN area, as well as the broader Indo-Pacific region,” the company said. “Skoda sees a significant sales potential in the ASEAN member countries.”