Skoda small car imperative for Oz

Skoda Australia is embarked on an ambitious plan to increase sales volumes, expand the dealer network and improve overall brand recognition —and much of that will hinge on an as yet unnamed small car.

"We are working to a very aggressive plan," Skoda boss Matthew Wiesner told journalists at a briefing yesterday for the new Superb 103TDI. The introduction of the Fabia light hatch and Yeti crossover SUV to the local market provides the importer with "segment opportunities two thirds greater" than is possible with the current product range.

But the importer is crying out for a true entry in the local small-car segment. The Octavia is a small car with a large boot, making it nominally a mid-size car in VFACTS terms, and the next generation car is expected to move upmarket in scale. In Australia, where small cars account for a rapidly growing percentage of new-car sales, the hole in Skoda product range will widen further with the introduction of the next Octavia.

"You've heard whispers around the place that there'll be a new small car coming..." said Wiesner.

"[A true small-segment car] is the obvious one that we need here in Australia — that's 25 per cent of the passenger/SUV [sales] volumes here in Australia. If you're not in that, you're not going to drive the brand where you need to go for volume. That's vital for us..."

Skoda's sales have been steadily improving since the company relaunched in Australia four years ago — 'steadily' due in part to the Global Financial Crisis, according to Wiesner — and the dealer network is anticipated to grow from 31 dealers currently to 55 by 2014. The company will extend its reach in the market with the Fabia and the Yeti, both of which were presented at the Australian International Motor Show in Melbourne last month, but the new small car can't come soon enough and will deliver more mainstream punch within the product range.

"The car is going to be introduced in Europe next year," confirmed Petr Benada, Skoda's Product Marketing Manager in Australia. According to Benada, also present during the Superb 103TDI briefing, the car is known internally as the 'A entry' and will sit "somewhere between Fabia and Octavia".

Benada could not confirm rumours that the new car will be marketed using the name 'Felicia' on its global release.

"They're talking 'Felicia', but I can't say..."

Benada said that the company has a policy of not naming its cars this far out from a global launch. The Felicia name was previously applied to a small car last produced in 2001 — not an eternity ago for a car company that can trace its history back over a hundred years. Whatever it's called, the new car will likely incorporate some styling cues from the Vision D concept car (pictured).

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