Skoda's Superb wagon for Oz?
Czech this out: another cargo carrier set to challenge the localsImported cars will continue to put the squeeze on locally made large cars if the latest unveiling by Czech brand Skoda is an indication.
Just months after the imported Ford Mondeo wagon went on sale locally, Skoda has unveiled a wagon version of its Superb – and it's huge.
The Superb is a large medium-sized car (if that makes sense!), and the wagon version is due in local showrooms by this time next year. But first, some numbers. The Superb's load space is rated at 633 litres with the seats up and 1865 litres with the rear seats folded flat. That's bigger than the Mondeo (535 and 1733 litres respectively) and just shy of the Commodore wagon.
The Superb wagon -- or Combi in Skoda-speak -- will become the flagship of the VW-owned Czech brand's range. It has such features as a proximity key and a panorama sunroof. Though it is still to go on sale in Europe and right-hand drive production is yet to be confirmed, Skoda believes such a vehicle would have appeal to Australian new car buyers.
"We look at all new models that would fit in the Skoda brand in Australia," said spokesman, Karl Gehling.
Skoda is on a path of slow but steady growth in Australia. Local sales are up 32 per cent in the first eight months of this year compared with the same period last year, albeit from a low base. By this time last year Skoda had sold 527 vehicles compared with 696 so far in 2009. The increase is respectable given that the new car market is down by 14 per cent year on year.
The arrival of the Skoda Superb wagon would bring another competitor to a sensitive area of the new-car wagon market. Given it will likely deliver the option of a frugal small capacity diesel as well as upmarket V6 all-wheel-drive petrol models, the Combi will have the ability to cover a number of market segments.
Ford's Falcon and Holden's Commodore wagons have until now mostly competed with softroaders big and small. The increasing number of European-sourced wagons seems set to tighten the squeeze on the locals even further.
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