Škoda extends with Tour de France: Škoda Auto has doubled down on its sponsorships profile in road cycling by extending as a main sponsor of the Tour de France and La Vuelta Grand Tour races for both men and women.
The renewal with the Tour de France will take the Volkswagen group-owned car brand’s association with the world’s biggest cycling race well beyond 20 years, up to 2028.
The auto manufacturer has been the green jersey sponsor for the leader in the points classification since 2015. Škoda has also been the green jersey sponsor of the Tour de France Femmes since its relaunch in 2022.
The longevity of the Tour de France deal, contracted with the race organisers Amaury Sports Organisation (ASO), is surpassed only by Škoda’s sponsorship of the IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship, which exceeded 30 years in 2022.
These deals – made at the global level – support a sales profile that is dominated by Western and Central Europe.
The most recently reported sales period, taking in the three quarters of the 2023 fiscal year, saw sales of 355,100 vehicles in Western Europe, a rise of 26 per cent over the equivalent period in 2022; sales of 136,400 in Central Europe, a rise of 28 per cent on last year; and sales in Eastern Europe of 34,000, down 13.7 per cent.
The rest of the world is represented by exports to China and India, where sales for the three quarters of 18,000 in China were down about 50 per on the prior period and sales of 35,600 vehicles in India down about seven per cent. In September, Škoda launched in the Vietnam market as a gateway to the ASEAN region.
With the lion’s share of revenues generated from Europe, Škoda also used the 2023 Tour de France as a platform to highlight the manufacturer’s first major rebrand in 30 years with its emerald and electric green colour scheme represented on the green jersey. As the official main vehicle partner, Škoda also supplied 200 vehicles to the organisers and race management, as well as service and support vehicles.
In 2022, the first year of the Tour de France Femmes, Škoda provided the organisers and a number of teams with more than 50 cars as well as sponsoring the green jersey.
In comparison, Škoda Auto provided the organisers with a fleet of 45 vehicles for the 2022 Ice Hockey World Championship in the Finnish cities of Helsinki and Tampere.
Bundled with the Grand Tours deal with ASO, but separate from the La Vuelta deal made with organisers Unipublic, are numerous other road cycling properties, including the Belgian classics La Flèche Wallonne and Liège-Bastogne-Liège.
Škoda and ASO say they will use electric vehicle fleets for all races included in the agreements. Up to 250 all-electric or plug-in hybrid Škoda models will be available to event organisers across all cycling events.