Not that the boss wants to head too far up market – he’s happy with the Superb being perceived as a rival to Mercedes saloons in India, rather than an actual rival. “We still want to be the best value-for-money car. Something that pleases your eyes, something that is contemporary, that is not fashionable but long-lasting and very functional.”
Zellmer, who worked for Porsche for 23 years before joining Skoda, has ticked one of his metrics for success by getting the European sales bronze medal. What else?
“A return on sales exceeding 8 per cent.” In the first half of 2025, Skoda delivered an 8.5 per cent margin, equating to €1.2-billion of operating profit. Cost cuts of €2.1-billion in the last two years have helped, as Skoda lets people retire and hires fewer people in new posts that reflect the changing, AI-driven industry. By 2030 Zellmer is targeting a 10 per cent operating margin.
Another goal is to get Skoda to exceed the 1-million sales mark; it delivered 926,567 cars in 2024. The previous high of 1.3-million included 300,000 Chinese sales, produced in a joint-venture which reduced the profits. Western car makers have lost enormous share in China since then.
Other markets such as the UK will fuel the latest growth push. “We’ve just exceeded 5 per cent market share in the UK, which makes us proud. But we’re number 12 in the market. If we gain another 0.8, 0.9 per cent market share, we can make it into the top five. So this is really what we need to do.
“But it’s not volume just for the sake of volume. We don’t celebrate market share if we lose money. But a reasonable next step has to be exceeding 1-million, simply because with scale you utilize your capacity better, and you generate incremental profit. This is the game plan,” he concludes.
Come and join our WhatsApp channel for the latest car news and reviews…
