Skoda reveals first Rapid images

We’ve seen the spy shots and now Skoda has revealed official images of its first direct rival for top-selling small cars like the Mazda3 and Toyota Corolla, the Rapid liftback.

Due on sale in Australia in the first half of next year, the all-new Rapid will be launched globally next month in Slovakia, before making its world public debut at the Paris Motor Show in September and hitting European showrooms in late 2012.

The four-door Rapid pictured here will be joined in Australia – for which the Rapid name was confirmed just weeks ago - by a five-door hatchback derivative within 12 months, with the Rapid hatch to emerge in Europe later this year before arriving Down Under in early 2014.

“It’s the first genuine small-car competitor for us,” said Skoda Australia Director Matthew Wiesner. “Everything we’re doing now is without an entry into the small car segment, which is about 25 per cent of the overall passenger market.”

Skoda Australia is currently finalising production dates for the local market, where Skoda’s all-new VW Up-based Citigo sub-light hatch will also be introduced in the first half of 2013.

Also due on sale globally next year is Skoda’s next-generation Octavia mid-sizer, which is expected to emerge by the end of this year and will grow substantially in size to make way for the new Rapid model family beneath it.

Mr Wiesner confirmed the redesigned A7-series Octavia liftback will be again be joined by wagon, higher-performance RS and crossover Scout derivatives.

“Each will have a different job to do, but the new Octavia will be much bigger – like Mondeo in size,” he said. “It’s still a liftback, but becomes even more European in its design and a few of the quirky bits will disappear.”

The all-new Citigo, meantime, will follow the lead of VW’s near-identical Up by launching here in three- and five-door body styles, powered by a 1.0-litre three-cylinder petrol engine with manual and automated manual transmission choices.

Mr Wiesner said Skoda’s first sub-light model would continue the Czech brand’s tradition of offering models that are less expensive and/or better specified than their equivalent Volkswagen models, so expect the Citigo to be even cheaper than the Up – which will be launched here in September – priced from around $14,000.

“We need to make sure of our positioning,” he said. “We’ll enter a segment that’s yet to grow. When it evolves we’ll be there.”

VW’s Skoda brand was launched in Australia in 2007 and last year doubled its local sales, from a low base to 3500 vehicles. So far in 2012, Skoda’s sales are more than double that of last year, thanks largely to the new Fabia and Yeti.

That momentum should continue in the second half of this year with new additions to the Fabia range this week, including DSG auto, sporty RS and wagon versions, more 2WD variants of the compact Yeti crossover – including a new 1.4-litre 90 TSI model – and the start of run-out Octavia sales later this year.

Skoda should therefore find more than 7000 Australian buyers this year, but Mr Wiesner said doubling sales every year would be a tough ask and would not reveal the company’s sales targets.

However, he conceded the addition of all-new Citigo and Rapid models in the first half of next year, and the new Octavia’s arrival later in 2013, could again double Skoda’s local sales to 14,000, which would finally make the left-field European brand a mainstream player in Australia.

To support the brand’s rapid growth here, Mr Wiesner said Skoda’s national dealer network would increase from 40 outlets currently to 45 by the end of this year – less than half of which are also VW dealers – and a maximum of 55 retailers within a few years.

The Rapid – which should replace the Octavia as Skoda’s top-selling model globally and in Australia – will aim directly at the likes of Corolla, Mazda3, Ford Focus and VW’s own Golf with a starting price of about $20,000 here. Currently, the Fabia 77TSI opens Skoda’s range here at $18,990, while the Octavia (90TSI) costs from $24,990.

Apart from introducing the Czech Volkswagen brand’s new design language (as previewed by the Vision D concept, featuring four-element headlights, trapezoidal foglights and a monochrome Skoda badge on the bonnet) Skoda says the Rapid will bring class-leading interior space - despite being 60mm shorter than a Corolla sedan at 4480mm long, and 1700mm wide.

In fact, the Rapid’s cabin and boot are expected to be bigger than the existing Octavia liftback’s, thanks to the fitment of torsion beam rear suspension and a long wheelbase for a new platform that is believed to be based on the latest VW Polo’s. While the current Fabia rides on previous-generation Polo underpinnings, the next Octavia will ride on the same new MQB platform as Audi’s new A3 and VW’s upcoming Mk7 Golf.

Seven engines - five petrols and two diesels – will power the Rapid globally, but further details remain scarce.

“This is a model which sets benchmarks in the compact saloon segment,” said Skoda CEO Winfried Vahland. “The Skoda Rapid is a roomy, elegant and at the same time an affordable car for the whole family, impressing with clever solutions, cutting-edge technology and high economy. In short, it is a car permitting mobility in a comfortable, reasonably priced and environmentally friendly package. The right car at the right time.”

Skoda said the high-volume A-class compact car segment in which the Rapid will be currently accounts for about 36 per cent of the world’s total car market. As in Australia, sedans account for about 42 per cent of the global small-car market, but that proportion is expected to increase by about 50 per cent by 2020, as demand from emerging markets like India quickly increases.

The Rapid will play a pivotal role in Skoda’s ambitions to nearly double its worldwide sales – from about 800,000 last year - to 1.5 million by 2018, by introducing a new model every six months on average in coming years.

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