Volkswagen Group will withdraw its Skoda brand from mainland China by mid-2026 after years of falling sales. Deliveries dropped from 341,000 in 2018 to around 15,000 last year as domestic EV makers gained market share.
Volkswagen Group is withdrawing its mass-market Skoda brand from mainland China after years of lacklustre sales, as international marques lose appeal in the world's largest automotive market. “Skoda Auto has realigned its global strategy to focus on growth markets such as India and the Asean region,” a Volkswagen spokesperson said on Thursday in a written response to the South China Morning Post, without denying earlier reports that the Czech brand would cease selling new vehicles by mid-2026. China would remain “at the very core of Volkswagen Group’s strategy,” the spokesperson added, with the company set to expand its portfolio in China with innovative products tailored to local needs. Established in 1896, Skoda entered the Chinese market in 2005 through a partnership with SAIC Volkswagen. It launched its first locally produced model, the Octavia, in 2007, leveraging Volkswagen’s technical platforms to position itself as an “affordable German-engineered” alternative. By 2018, the brand peaked at about 341,000 deliveries in China, its largest market, with more than 500 dealers selling models including the Octavia, Superb and Kodiaq. The move follows Japan’s Mitsubishi Motors, which in July announced it was terminating its joint venture in Shenyang, capital of northeast China’s Liaoning province, ending operations after more than 40 years.
