Skoda Global Sales Surge

[K1W1]

If Skoda Aus is willing to bring tons of barebone (2 airbag only, no ESP, plastic everything) Fabia and offer $13990 drive away, I believe it's sales chart will really fly!

If they brought vehicles with that spec in they wouldn't be allowed to sell them in most states.

[PassatB6]

A funny thing is that initially I thought Skodas looked a little dated, yet as time goes on they seem to look LESS dated. Not sure why that is. Its as if the Skoda look is now becoming cool as it has a character all of its own. Especially after the Tour De France!

[VAG newbie]

If they brought vehicles with that spec in they wouldn't be allowed to sell them in most states.

Well, we are selling Chinese cars now, so why wouldn't it be allowed? Great Wall ute outsells a lot of other well known brand!

[VAG newbie]

A funny thing is that initially I thought Skodas looked a little dated, yet as time goes on they seem to look LESS dated. Not sure why that is. Its as if the Skoda look is now becoming cool as it has a character all of its own. Especially after the Tour De France!

Fully agree!

It's called timeless styling. Mazda 3 might look sexy now, in 10 years when you look back, you will say "it's so 2010's!!".

Superb, initially I thought it looks like 1990 Avalon with a Lancer butt, but the more I look at it, the more it looks elegant. Why is that?

[brad]

Well, we are selling Chinese cars now, so why wouldn't it be allowed? Great Wall ute outsells a lot of other well known brand!

Great Walls utes are classified as commercial vehicles & therefore not subject to the same ADRs/Safety standard as a passenger vehicle. Cherry can't be sold in Victoria at the moment as all new vehicles sold in Victoria have to have ESP standard.

I assume that other states will follow Victoria's lead in the not to distant future.

As an aside, my wife ran her new Mondeo up the date of a HiLux the other day. Damage was minimal but considering the raft of Primary & Secondary safety features on that vehicle, it shouldn't have happened. I asked her if she buried the brake pedal into the firewall when she realised what was happening "No, I didn't want the tyres to lock up." FFS! I've probably suggested a dozen times that she gets the car somewhere quiet & try the brakes out. She also admitted later that she was txting at the time. Silly moo.

[VAG newbie]

Other major factor of Skoda's slow sale is the pricing. Skoda has always tried to set it's price 10-15% cheaper than VW, or offer better equipment level. ie. it's trying to compete with VW. Which is strange, because both Skoda and VW in OZ is handled by VW Aus. It's competeing itself.

When compared to major Japanese / Korean brand, the value for money equation doesn't really stand out. Currently my parents are thinking of trading up their Mitsubishi Colt. I recommended them to wait for the Fabia to come out. They liked the "mini" look of it, and were really looking forward to try it in 2012. But when compared to Honda Jazz, a base model Fabia costs $3000 more than a Honda Jazz VTi. The equiptment level of the Fabia is only 4 more speakers better than the VTi plus leather bound steering wheel, but it loses on alloy wheels which is standard on the VTi. Even though the Fabia is slightly more fuel efficient than the Jazz, it's just doesn't justify the the extra $3000. Of course I know about the turbo charged engine and better performance and handling, but I don't think my parents, nor any average Joes or Janets will appreciate that. Let's just hope the test drive in 2012 will really convince them to fork out the extra $3000.

Even for me, who picked the Superb, and I am a big fan of Skoda now. The reason I bought the Superb is because it's price is very good compare to major Japanese competitor, ie. Honda Accord V6L and Toyota Aurion, both of which priced their top model at $49,990 compared to Superb TDI's $47990. If I had to fork out extra $3000, I might not buy it.

When I got the quoted price of a Passat TDI with almost identical equipment to the Superb that costs only $90 more, almost everyone in this Skoda forum, many of you are great fans of Skoda, all unanimously go for the Passat! Obviously there isn't any brand loyalty here with the Skoda even among Skoda owners. We bought Skoda for the value for money.

I think Skoda Aus is targeting those people that wanted a Audi/VW, but can't really come up with the cash, or are not willing to fork out extra for the badge. ie. to keep all the potential VW buyers within the VAG circle so they don't go to the Japanese/Korean. So it will always be a small market, and hence small sales.

[Brycem]

Those who bought rs wagons did so because that vehicle has no direct rival in this market. None of the Koreans or japanese or vw for that matter offer as sporty a wagon at that price point. Value was not an issue unless you consider paying 30k less than a similarly performing BMW Audi or Mercedes a value proposition.

[K1W1]

I asked her if she buried the brake pedal into the firewall when she realised what was happening "No, I didn't want the tyres to lock up." FFS! I've probably suggested a dozen times that she gets the car somewhere quiet & try the brakes out. She also admitted later that she was txting at the time. Silly moo.

Next birthday present - a voucher to an advanced driving course.

[VAG newbie]

Those who bought rs wagons did so because that vehicle has no direct rival in this market. None of the Koreans or japanese or vw for that matter offer as sporty a wagon at that price point. Value was not an issue unless you consider paying 30k less than a similarly performing BMW Audi or Mercedes a value proposition.

Unfortunately not many people will see Skoda as an Audi, BMW, Mercedes competitor. People pay a premium for the badge.

My point is, when placed against the major Asian players, the value is not that great, although I agree there is nothing on the market that can compete with the RS.

However, if we see Skoda as an entry level European Marque such as Renault, Citroen, Fiat, Alpha Romeo...etc, which it is anyway, I'd say Skoda is doing quite well against these brands, and we should never expect Skoda sales to be in the thousands.

[RSOK]

True, I doubt anyone seriously cross-shops a Skoda against a Merc/BMW/Audi, because clearly that's not where the Volkswagen Group has positioned the brand in the minds of consumers (let alone the materials/technology used in the cars). I'd agree with you that Skoda should be seen up against the Renaults/Peugeots/Citroens from Europe, as an affordable 'entry' point to a European drive. And of course up against the higher-end offerings from Asian rivals like Subaru, Honda and, well, pretty much every other key player out there in the sub-$60k market!

Will Skoda ever see monthly sales exceed 1,000 units here in Oz? It's possible. I'm sure there were some pipe-dreamers at VW back in the early 1990's who thought that perhaps one day we might sell 3,000 Golfs a month here...!! But given that Skoda is under the control of VAG Aus then it very much depends on the marketing effort put into the brand by the parent entity relative to its VW branded products.... I don't think we'll see 1,000 units a month soon, but it's not an impossible target with just a little effort I think.

[Inego]

Alpha Romeo...

Alfa please, which again doesn't really know where to pitch itself in the marketplace.....

[brad]

Personally, I can't see why anyone would cross shop a Honda Jazz against a Fabia but I haven't seen a Fabia in the flesh to gauge the true size. Also, you are talking RRP whereas I've found Skoda willing to deal & Honda less so.

As for Camry/Aurion/Seppo Accord against Superb...... I dunno, none of the former float my boat at all. I wouldn't even bother to test drive them.

[VAG newbie]

Personally, I can't see why anyone would cross shop a Honda Jazz against a Fabia but I haven't seen a Fabia in the flesh to gauge the true size. Also, you are talking RRP whereas I've found Skoda willing to deal & Honda less so.

Well, just based on a few previous comments, someone is expecting Skoda to sell thousands per month, and a few comparison between the Octavia with Corolla/Mazda3/Cruze, and hopes were put on the Fabia as it comes. In that case, we have to expect Fabia to compete with Japanese/Korean minis such as Honda Jazz/Toyota Yaris/Nissan Micra/Hyundai i20/Holden Barina....etc. With the RRP, I think it is gonna be tough, as most average Joes and Janets in this price bracket won't care about how a car handles and performs. They just need a car that will take them from A to B.

In my experience, Skodas are not that easy to negotiate, especially if the car has to be to order from Czech factory. It will depend on how many Skoda Aus are willing to keep in the stock yard. I suspect there won't be many as the demand for the 1.2TS is huge world wide. We would be lucky to get assigned 50 in the first shipment.

As for Camry/Aurion/Seppo Accord against Superb...... I dunno, none of the former float my boat at all. I wouldn't even bother to test drive them.

Superb is a very special car that it kind of fits into many market segment, bit you can also say it doesn't fit into any. Mechanically, it should be a medium car as it shares components with Passat and A4. Therefore compete with Passat/Mondeo/Liberty, and to a lesser extend, Camry and Accord.

But it is also a family car because of its size, that competes with Commodore/Falcon/Aurion. The pricing of the Ambition is in direct competition with these big Aussie V6's. The Combi just directly competes with the Commodore sports Wagon.

But according to Top Gear in UK, it is considered a "luxury" car that competes with Rolls Royce (and have beaten it and won the best luxury car award!)! Also many UK reviews have compared it to Mercedes C or even E class! I know it is quite popular as company VIP transports in some countries, as it has the feeling, comfort and quality of an E-class, and the room of an S-class, but a running cost of just...uh, maybe a Golf! I also heard from an unconfirmed rumor that is it also used as the presidential car in Czech Republic!

Personally, I'd like to see it as a luxury car. I took my parents for the test drive, they were really surprised that it's ORC starts <$50,000 (the elegance trim we are talking about) and afterward when they compare with my current Accord Euro luxury, they commented the quality of the Euro is no where near the Superb!! That stirred their interest on the Skoda! And my parents have owned a couple of luxury cars themselves, including a Lexus and a BMW 740iL, so they know what they are talking about.