AutoWallis Enters Czech Retail Market With an Acquisition
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The AutoWallis Group is continuing its international expansion after agreeing on the purchase of the Czech Stratos Auto’s BMW business unit, according to a report by state news wire MTI.
As the first step in the transaction, AutoWallis is purchasing 80% of NC Auto s.r.o., which share will be increased to 100% within two years. Thanks to the acquisition, the company listed in the Prime Market of the Budapest Stock Exchange will, in addition to Prague, gain a presence in the two Czech cities of Hradec Kralove and Pardubice to obtain 10% of BMW sales – which accounts for almost 4% of premium car sales – in the Czech Republic with a single step.
In addition to BMW retail sales, the agreement also involves related repair services. The approval of the Czech competition authority is required to complete the transaction.
Commenting on the acquisition, AutoWallis CEO Gábor Ormosy said that with the Czech market, the Group is entering the retail market of yet another country in the region after Slovenia, while it is already present in 16 countries in the vehicle wholesale sector.
Ormosy pointed out that AutoWallis’s revenue was in large part already obtained from the international market, which is further increased with this Czech acquisition.
Péter Antal, head of the AutoWallis Group Retail & Services Business Unit, explained that a total of 244,000 new passenger vehicles were placed on the market in the Czech Republic in 2023, which is 190% of the Hungarian market. He also emphasized that while the Hungarian passenger car market shrank by 3.4% last year, sales saw an increase in 27% in the Czech Republic.
Regarding the acquisition, he said that as the three sites involved in the transaction are of high quality and enjoy excellent management teams responsible for operations, the AutoWallis Group’s diversified presence, expertise, and capital strength are excellently positioned for further growth in the Czech market.
Established in 1994, Stratos Auto is a major player on the Czech vehicle sales market (in addition to BMW, the subject of the current transaction, it offers three other non-premium brands not represented by AutoWallis). The company regrouped the BMW business unit into the company NC Auto in 2023 with the purpose of selling it. Involved in BMW factory-authorized repairs since 2005, the company opened its first BMW showroom in 2007. NC Auto (Stratos Auto) sold 650 (new and used) BMWs in 2022 and 737 in 2023.
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