Skoda aims for top three

Skoda is celebrating its 20th anniversary in Ireland by holding an open event throughout its 22 dealers nationwide up until July 6th that will see highly-competitive deals being offered to customers. These celebrations are also set to coincide with the rollout of the new '132' registration plate.

It might come as a surprise to some that Skoda is actually the third oldest car brand in the world and was founded in the former Czechoslovakia way back in 1895. During its time it has seen two World Wars, while in 1945 it fell under state control as part of the communist regime. With the fall of communism in 1991, Skoda became part of the Volkswagen Group.   Two years later it entered the Irish market for the first time and sold 76 cars in its first year through just four dealers. Since then the brand has sold in excess of 60,000 vehicles and has a 10-strong model range.

The planned festivities will coincide not just with the introduction of the new 132 registration plate, but also with the arrival of the new Skoda Octavia - a model which first helped cement the Czech brand's popularity here in Ireland. All Skoda dealers nationwide will be offering 'unprecedented trade in allowances' as well as a 3.9% APR finance rate for customers throughout June and July.

Skoda has now set its sights on becoming a top-three car brand in Ireland and it hopes that competitive offers like those of the 20th anniversary celebrations will help ensure that. Commenting, John Donegan, Brand Director for Skoda Ireland, said: "We are extremely proud of what has been achieved over the past 20 years. The last five years have been among the most challenging the car industry has seen but our products have proven they are fitting for the current environment where customers are attuning to value more than ever before. This is only the beginning for Skoda.  We have doubled our market share in just five years and the next five years will see the introduction of even more models to the range including two new SUVs by 2018. Looking to the future, I don't see why Skoda cannot become a top three car brand in Ireland."

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