There's some serious product headed our way from Skoda. Over the next two or three years the Czech company is expected to introduce a new Octavia mid-size model and a small car to be positioned above the Fabia light hatch.
It's all intended to build up the company's local sales volumes through the medium of a high-selling small car — one that doesn't currently exist as a production car.
"I've been pretty clear, to be a serious player in this market we need to be in the small car segment in Australia," said Skoda's Matthew Wiesner. The Skoda exec offered the Mazda3 as an example of what the company needs in its product range for stronger sales in Australia.
Asked for a rough timetable, Wiesner suggested a car to slot between the Fabia and the current Octavia would be two years away from a local launch. And the next Octavia — due in 2013 — is expected to sport styling cues from the Vision D concept and will be a larger car than the current model. It may also be twinned with a sedan version named Felicia. That will free up room within the product range to avoid sales cannibalisation by the new small car.
In the meantime, Skoda holds high hopes in Australia for its Yeti crossover, just announced. It's a compact SUV in essence, providing small-car packaging with added headroom. Skoda is also reintroducing the Roomster to Australia.
"The Roomster will come back," Wiesner confirmed with motoring.com.au. "It will definitely come back... in the first quarter of next year. And you'll see it quite aggressively positioned. The Roomster before was too expensive, with the wrong drivetrains."
Wiesner was speaking at the Australian International Motor Show at the media preview day last week. He confirmed that drivetrains for the Roomster would be similar to the Yeti's, meaning the 77 TSI turbo petrol engine and the 103kW turbodiesel — plus possibly others to follow.
But in spite of Wiesner's confidence in the repositioned Roomster, it needs to be complemented by a conventional small car in the range before Skoda can count its sales in the segment by hundreds.
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