MLADA BOLESLAV (dpa-AFX) - Volkswagen's Czech subsidiary Skoda delivered significantly fewer cars to customers in 2022 than the year before. The Mlada Boleslav-based company delivered 731,300 vehicles worldwide, a spokesman said Wednesday. That was 146,900, or about 16.7 percent, fewer than in the same period last year. Reasons cited were the ongoing semiconductor shortage, the war in Ukraine, supply chain problems, rising energy and raw material prices, and uncertainty in global markets.

The decline in shipments in Russia was particularly drastic at minus 79.8 percent. Following the Russian attack on Ukraine, the Volkswagen Group had suspended its Russian business. In the growth market of India, however, Skoda more than doubled the number of deliveries - from 22,800 vehicles in 2021 to 51,900 in 2022.

In global terms, the most popular model was the Skoda Octavia, followed by the Kamiq and Kodiaq SUV models. "The market situation will remain tight in 2023, but we are cautiously optimistic that the situation will gradually ease in the coming months," Skoda CEO Klaus Zellmer announced. He added that the company is well equipped for the coming years with an e-offensive for the switch to electric mobility./hei/DP/mis