PRAGUE (Reuters) - Czech carmaker Skoda Auto, part of Germany's Volkswagen (DE:VOWG_p), sold more than 1 million cars for the second time in its history in 2015, increasing global deliveries by 1.8 percent thanks to rising demand in most of Europe.
Higher sales in western and central Europe helped offset a slumping Russian market and weakness in China, the Czech Republic's largest exporter said.
The company has reported having 1.2 million cars affected by the emissions test rigging scandal at parent Volkswagen, but has played down its potential impact on sales.
After selling more than 1 million cars for the first time in 2014, Skoda lifted deliveries to 1.06 million in 2015 and reported its best-ever December sales.
Western European auto sales rose 4.3 percent in 2015, led by growth in Germany. Sales in central Europe increased nearly 15 percent. In China, the carmaker's biggest market, sales stagnated while Russian deliveries slumped by a third.
Skoda did not provide an outlook for 2016 but said it was preparing for the launch of a new SUV model this year.
The car industry is a major driver for the export-reliant Czech economy, which benefitted last year from an influx of EU development funds to grow by more than 4 percent in 2015.
Czech car production is expected to have risen to a record 1.3 million cars last year. Besides Skoda, the central European country is home to plants run by Hyundai Motor (KS:011760) and TPCA, a joint venture of Toyota Motor Corp (T:7203) and PSA Peugeot Citroen (PA:PEUP).