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AAA AUTO sets another new record, selling 86,000 cars last year

The Czech Republic has long accounted for most car sales, followed by Slovakia, but Poland is catching up

Prague, 7 January 2020 – Despite the clear signs of a slowdown throughout the new and used car sector in 2019, AURES Holdings again set a new sales record. The AAA AUTO network of 57 dealerships sold new and used cars to over 86,000 customers, which is 3,000 more than in 2018. With 47,000 vehicles sold in the Czech Republic, the group maintained its position in this country as the largest single domestic seller of automobiles. The greatest growth was seen in Poland, where 58% more cars were sold than in 2018, reaching nearly 15,000 in total.

“I am pleased that even though the market situation is not very favorable, we have been able to maintain sales growth within the group and break last year’s record by a few thousand, with 86,000 vehicles sold. 2019 was the most successful year yet in the company’s history, both with respect to number of vehicles sold and in terms of expanding the dealership network, which grew to 57 sales and purchasing locations. The biggest thank-you goes to our nearly three thousand employees, and also the nearly 170,000 customers who purchased or sold a vehicle through us last year,” said Karolína Topolová, CEO and Chairman of the Board of Directors of AURES Holdings, which operates the  AAA AUTO international network of car centers. Given current sales growth, the AAA AUTO dealership network expects to welcome its two-and-a-half millionth customer this year. “Since the economic crisis we have been able to more than double our sales in Central Europe and I believe - thanks to our continuing expansion in Poland and enlargement or reconstruction of branches in other countries - that we will continue to significantly increase the number of cars traded this year,” added Karolína Topolová. Currently the AAA AUTO network has 13 branches in Poland, which the company plans to increase to 20 by the end of the year. “We anticipate selling more than 20,000 cars in Poland this year, which would make it our second-largest market. Up until now this has been Slovakia, with 18,000 cars sold annually,” said Topolová.

Sale of Vehicles in the AAA AUTO network over the past 10 years

(Vehicle sales in the AAA AUTO network have more than doubled since 2010)

The most popular vehicle sold throughout the entire group has long been the Škoda Octavia. It is especially popular in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, where it easily took the top spot. In Poland it was third most popular and in Hungary fifth. Second and third place here and in Slovakia are held by two very popular models, the Škoda Fabia and Volkswagen Passat. Interestingly enough, while the smaller Škoda is the second-most popular car in the Czech Republic and Slovakia and the fourth in Poland, in Hungary it comes nineteenth. Popular cars in Hungary include models not commonly seen here such as the Suzuki Swift (third), Opel Corsa (sixth), Suzuki Ignis (seventh) or Mazda 3 (ninth). In Poland and Hungary the Opel Astra is in first place. Also very popular is the Ford Focus in second place. The big mover of the year is the Škoda Rapid, which this year jumped to fourth place in the CR and sixth overall in the group.

TOP 10 best-selling cars in the AAA AUTO network in 2019

In 2019, SUVs once again grew in popularity, selling 14% more in the AAA AUTO network than in the previous year. It is interesting that most of these were not all-wheel drive vehicles. There was also a significant increase in demand for off-road (up 11%) and MPV vehicles (up 8%). Overall, however, 35% of customers still buy hatchbacks and 24% station wagons.

Another trend last year was the increased interest in gasoline models. A total of 55% of AAA AUTO customers opted for gasoline-powered vehicles. “This was perhaps the first time in our nearly thirty-year history that we saw such a marked decline in demand for diesels. Fewer diesels were sold throughout the entire group than last year, mainly because of the shift towards gasoline-powered vehicles,” added Topolová. In the area of alternative drive vehicles, interest in hybrid cars more than doubled compared to the previous year.

Manual transmissions remain dominant and were purchased by 83% of AAA AUTO customers in 2019. However, significant strides were made by automatics, which rose by 13%. In the Czech Republic 7% more customers chose an automatic than in 2018, while the increase in Slovakia was as high as 12%.