VW's Skoda posts 12% profit rise in H1 as electric sales grow

PRAGUE (Reuters) -Skoda Auto, a Volkswagen unit, increased the share of electric vehicles in its sales mix in the first half of the year and posted a nearly 12% rise in operating profit to 1.3 billion euros ($1.52 billion), it said on Monday.

The Czech carmaker's revenue for the first six months rose nearly 12% year on year to 15.1 billion euros.

Deliveries were up 14% to 509,400 vehicles in the period. Around 23% of those deliveries were either fully electric or plug-in hybrid models, up from 9.4% in the first half of last year, the company said.

Chief Executive Klaus Zellmer said customers had placed more than 120,000 orders for Skoda's all-electric Enyaq and Elroq models by the end of June, highlighting progress in its electrification strategy.

European automakers have booked multi-billion-euro losses and issued profit warnings as they struggle to handle competition from China, U.S. import tariffs, and EU regulations aimed at speeding up the EV transition.

"Sales relative to the overall market performance, we are doing good," Zellmer told journalists in a video conference.

While overall car sales have fallen in Europe this year, sales of electric vehicles - a priority segment for companies like Skoda Auto - have been rising.

Zellmer said the company sees big potential with the new Epiq, an electric SUV priced at 25,000 euros that will target entry-level consumers. It plans to launch the Epiq in the first half of 2026.

"We put a lot of hope or I would even say ... expectation on that car," he said. "Our current rate of electrified drive train sales ... has to go up."

In the European market, Skoda delivered 409,100 vehicles to customers, an increase of nearly 11% that outperformed the overall market and was underpinned by the sales of 72,000 electric vehicles and 21,400 plug-in hybrids, the company said.

Skoda also achieved record results in India where it delivered 33,000 vehicles, representing year-on-year growth of 108%, the company said.

($1 = 0.8527 euros)

(Reporting by Michael Kahn; Editing by Joe Bavier)