Czech new-car registrations increased by 20 percent year on year in March to 16,576 vehicles, the country’s car importers association said.

In the first quarter, registrations grew by 18 percent to 42,993 cars, the association said.

Volkswagen Group’s Skoda brand kept its pole position in the quarter with a 30.5 percent market share, followed by Hyundai’s 9.2 and Volkswagen with 9.2 percent.

The Czech economy, heavily reliant on car plants run by Skoda, Hyundai and a joint venture of Toyota-PSA/Peugeot-Citroen, is gaining traction after a record long recession ended in the second quarter last year, mirroring a pattern across Europe.