Skoda hatches a plan, the VisionD

Geneva International Motor Show

Skoda is getting sexy. Already grabbing sales from its parent brand Volkswagen in many Euro markets, the Czech-based company is looking to move its core qualities from just practical to practical and pert.

Key to the image change is a new corporate identity – with new logo and a change in badgework. More interesting was the surprise five-door hatch concept the brand rolled out at Geneva.

Said to introduce Skoda’s new design language, the VisionD is essentially a sexed-up version of the new C-segment (Golf sized) hatch the company will unveil in 2012. To be built on a Golf platform like the current Octavia, the new hatch will not replace Skoda’s bestseller but rather is expected to supplement it.

Skoda has been without a conventional hatch in the all-important small car marketplace. The existing Fabia is Polo sized and does not offer true small car space. The new hatch should address this shortfall.

Currently Octavia straddles the small and medium car segments. The current model is offered in five-door liftback and a true wagon version. The next generation Octavia is expected to continue this variant offering, though it’s likely its size will sneak up slightly – as VW’s new Jetta has grown in its latest generation from its former Golf-matching dimensions.

The name VisionD is not likely to give a hint to the badge the hatch will wear. Previously Skoda hatches have worn the name Felicia.

Skoda’s says the new concept “singles out characteristic design elements” and “guides them forwards towards the future”.

“Long wheelbase and short overhangs are a prerequisite for successful automotive architecture as they both allow for above-average interior space and, coupled with the dynamic roof line, lend the car a high degree of visual majesty,” reads the press bumpf.

“The fluent integration of the tailgate underscores the entire car’s sophisticated practicality. The high everyday utility value and distinctive interior modular design are traditional brand values which are freshly interpreted in a more modern form here. The grille with its unobtrusively shiny finish symbolizes the brand’s aesthetic blueprint, its fine slats resembling taut harp strings.”

Brand fans will nitice the simplification of the new Skoda arrow-based logo and the new script for the badges. The corporate identity change is expected to be rolled out through Australian dealers in 2012 and onwards.

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