SPY PICS: Skoda's first seven-seater to launch SUV expansion

Skoda's “all-important” Kodiaq large SUV will launch the Czech brand's SUV expansion in Australia as well as continue the simplification of its model range and push upmarket.

The Kodiaq arrives here mid-2017, while a more orthodox and larger second-generation Yeti compact SUV is expected Down Under around mid-2018. At least two more SUVs are said to be in development for global launch by 2020, bolstering Skoda’s customer appeal.

While European reports indicate the Kodiaq, which has been spied in testing several times and debuts at the Paris motor show in September, will be offered in both front- and all-wheel drive configuration, as a five- and seven-seater and with turbo-petrol, turbo-diesel and plug-in hybrid drivetrains, they won’t all be fronting up in Australia.

Instead, Skoda Australia is likely to position the car with an upmarket skew as it has recently done with Superb and Octavia, ensuring it doesn’t crowd Skoda’s other SUV, the compact Yeti.

“I’d probably be making an approach to position the car similar to what we did with Octavia and Superb on the top-end of the spectrum, knowing that the Yeti is also there and has to fulfil its job,” Skoda Australia director Michael Irmer said at a media briefing in Melbourne this week.

“Low complexity has great benefits for the entire organisation including our retail network, but also for the consumers because it means the chances are greater that you get the car you want to buy at an earlier point in the inbound pipeline.

“If you have too many variants the odds are you have thousands of cars coming but not the car you want.”

One variant that will definitely come is the seven-seat Kodiaq, which Irmer specifically named as an Australian launch model around the middle of 2017. Turbo-diesel as well as turbo-petrol engines are likely to be part of the mix, despite the company’s lessening dependence on them here.

Irmer did not underplay the significance of Kodiaq for the Australian arm of the Czech subsidiary of Volkswagen Group, which has climbed slowly in Australia since its 2007 launch, posting a record 4570 registrations in 2015.

“The next big thing for us here is Kodiaq,” he said. “It is so important for us. All-important.”

Despite that description, Irmer stopped short of predicting the Kodiaq would become the brand’s top-seller, usurping the mid-size Octavia passenger car. But he did predict it would deliver overall brand sales growth, along with the second-generation Yeti.

“We have been relatively weak in the SUV segment … but now we are getting a suitable range of SUVs,” he said. “When we come out with the Kodiaq and the new-generation Yeti we will have a much bigger share of the SUV segment.

“SUV is almost 50 per cent of the market so if you have a better, more competitive product you anticipate a bigger growth of the brand.

“But I am not going to predict what our level of sales will be in the next couple of years.”

Irmer listed the Toyota Kluger, Hyundai Santa Fe and entry-level European luxury SUVs as competitors for the Kodiaq. He would not bite on whether Skoda Australia would be able to match or undercut the $42,490 entry-level price announced for the new Mazda CX-9 this week.

“We will be comparing like-for-like and making sure our offering presents adequate value in the marketplace,” he said. “In every single car we are very, very competitive and we anticipate to do the same with the upcoming models also.

“For me it's not about the price, it’s about what you get. With Superb we have specced it up very high and we think that is the right way for us to go. If that means our entry price is a little higher but the value for money equation will be there, then that is the most important thing.”

Meanwhile, the current Yeti must continue on and contribute sales for another 12 months after the launch of Kodiaq. Its replacement will be larger and lose the current vehicle’s quirky styling.

“It will be slightly larger than the current model with a bit more boot space,” Irmer confirmed. “It will be following the design clues of the Kodiaq and the interpretation of the new SUV looks.”

“The current Yeti is a bit quirky and a bit small. It is a great product but it’s not for everyone in Australia, that is also clear.”

Two more Skoda SUVs have been mooted – a coupe-ish five-seater based on the same MQB architecture as the Kodiaq and a mini wagon to take on the likes of the Mazda CX-3.

However, Irmer wouldn’t confirm these two models existed let alone were coming into Australia. He did say he would welcome an influx of SUV nameplates as Australian buyer appetite for them showed no sign of relenting.

“It’s safe to assume the more areas you cover of the SUV territory the more you can capture from the market, that is for sure.

“So if it was my way I would rather have three or four SUVs than two, but we have to wait for the factory to make their product decisions and release information.”