Matt Brogan•30 Jan 2014
NEWS
MQB to underpin Skoda's seven-seat SUV
Skoda confirms its eighth model line will share VW's modular architectureSkoda’s press chief Peik von Bestenbostel has told motoring.com.au that the brand’s upcoming five- and seven-seat SUV offering, due in 2016, will be underpinned by Volkswagen’s modular MQB architecture.
The platform, shared with Volkswagen Golf, Audi A4 and Skoda Octavia amongst others, can be adapted for length and width and will also underpin the new Skoda Superb, due in 2015. When launched, this adaptation of the MQB architecture will give us the best idea yet of proportions for Skoda’s Snowman – as some are already calling it – which is tipped to be similar in size to Hyundai’s Santa Fe.
Volkswagen’s MQB architecture is fixed in its dimensions only from the front axle to the firewall, which allows access to a range of engines, most already stalwarts in the VAG range. It is said that the Snowman could offer the typical range of turbocharged petrol (TSI) and diesel (TDI) units, as well as a plug-in hybrid version – a first for the Skoda brand. Front- and all-wheel drive (4MOTION) variants are also expected.
The latest piece in the puzzle follows Skoda’s admission at the international launch of the third-generation Octavia that it would follow mother-brand Volkswagen’s CrossBlue concept towards the development of a Santa Fe-sized SUV. At that time, Skoda CEO Dr Winifred Vahland told motoring.com.au that a larger SUV was of critical importance to the brand’s growth.
Internationally, Skoda sold just more than 920,000 units in 2013 with more than 200,000 sales in China. The addition of a larger SUV would certainly bump that figure to over the magic million mark, though Skoda says this will be achieved without entering the SUV-hungry US market.
“We want to continue to grow our existing markets,” Berstenbostel said. “[And] we will for sure do that with a larger seven-seat SUV.”
Skoda plans to sell 1.5 million units annually by 2018.
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Written byMatt Brogan
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