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Best-selling used car of 2017 was silver hatchback with manual gearbox
AAA AUTO International, biggest used car dealer in the country, sold over 75,000 vehicles last year
Prague, 4 January 2018 – The AAA AUTO International Company sold 75,372 vehicles last year across the entire group, of which 46,744 were sold in the Czech Republic. The firm is the second biggest car dealer in the country after Skoda Auto. The title of most popular used car variant was again held by the silver hatchback with petrol engine, which won the popularity stakes for the third year running following the long-standing earlier domination of the market by estate models. Last year’s sales were led by vehicles with a manual gearbox, two-wheel drive and performance output of 70-85 kW. These are the results of the AAA AUTO Index annual analysis of best-selling used car specifications.
Czech customers opted for the silver hatchback (two-box vehicles with a lifting rear section and a vertical or sloping rear) ahead of all other used cars for the third year running. Last year, 32.7% of customers purchased this model variant. The second most popular body is the estate, which was preferred by 28.4% of people. The popularity of SUV Vehicles increased by nearly 2%, to 13.6%.
As in the previous two years, the most popular fuel is petrol. Vehicles with petrol engines were chosen by 51.8% of Czech drivers. However, it is interesting that the single most popular engine is a diesel, namely the 1.9 TDi. Engines with a performance output of 70-85 kW dominated sales this year, accounting for 31% of sales. They were very closely followed by the least powerful automobiles in the 0-69 kW category, which were chosen by 30.6% of customers. Vehicles with a performance output of 101 – 125 kW came third and improved their position year-on-year by 1.5% to 19.1%. “The total percentage of the first two lowest categories is over 61% of the market. This confirms the trend starting last year for Czech drivers to move over increasingly to less powerful vehicles,” says AAA AUTO International’s managing director Karolína Topolová.
Vehicles with a manual gearbox retained the top spot and were purchased by 85.3% of Czech customers in 2017. However, vehicles with an automatic gearbox gained some ground and were chosen by nearly 1.5% more customers year-on-year (14.3%). Vehicles with two-wheel drive are also more popular.
The Czech Skoda Octavia increased its clear dominance among the most popular models by one tenth of a per cent year-on-year. The model was purchased by 10.8% of customers, while 9.7% chose the smaller Skoda Fabia. “The high number of Skoda cars sold also reflects the fact that AAA AUTO International is the second biggest car dealer in the Czech Republic after Skoda Auto,“ Topolová adds.The Volkswagen Passat (3.8%) came third, as it did last year, and the Ford Focus (2.5%) came fourth. The last of the TOP 5 is the Skoda Superb, which rose two places year-on-year. Overall demand for used cars is growing at the same rate as the demand for Skoda vehicles. AAA AUTO International expects that the number of vehicles sold within the scope of the entire group, including those sold in the New Year, will exceed 75 thousand. “According to recent findings, people can afford more expensive and higher-quality used cars due to the improving economic situation. The number of Czech car owners who have not owned a car previously is also increasing,“ Topolová concluded.
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The AAA AUTO Group has been in the market for 26 years. It operates a network of over 40 branches in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, and Hungary. The group has served over 2 million customers since first opening its doors, and now sells over 75,000 cars annually, making it the largest seller of used cars in Central and Eastern Europe. It also sells cars under its re-launched Mototechna brand. The company regularly features in the CZECH TOP 100 and the Czech 100 best companies. The AAA AUTO Group is owned by the British-Polish investment fund Abris Capital Partners. The AAA AUTO and Mototechna brands are official partners of Czech football’s top ranking ePojisteni.cz League.
