Skoda brand image

[K1W1]

Anyone seen any seats (SEATs) lately that was VWs learning curve here in Australia, this time they have Skoda dealers not VW dealers with SEATs inside them.

No it wasn't.
SEAT (and VW at the time) were imported into Australia by a privately owned UK distributor called Inchcape who just happens to be the same company who still has the distributorship for Subaru in Australia.
The VW factory were not involved in directly importing cars into Australia until about the year 2000.

[nightphotographer]

I think the Skoda brand image here is better than in Europe! I know certainly as a Skoda owner in the UK, it was almost a joke saying you owned one and very few people would drop the old skoda stereotype. I think Australia is a fresh start for Skoda and maybe not knowing the brands history actually works in its favour. It's better to tell people about a new brand than tell them about an old brand that's been redeveloped.

I love skoda to pieces though, I've only owned VW's Seats and one Skoda...the Skoda was the best of them all.

[VAG newbie]

I've come to a point realizing that it's not such a bad thing that Skoda is not well known! My wife had no idea what Maybach or Maserati is. She thought they are the same as Skoda, ie, unknown niche Euro brands!

Maybe that's what I'll say when people see my car!

[gldgti]

I've always thought of skodas as VW's..... the octavia is the first car i've owned thats not a Golf - but it feels like a golf when I drive it, and it looks like a golf underneath, so thats how I think of it.

My parents are VW people and they "get it". My father in law is generally interested in cars, and although he'd never seen a Skoda up close when we brought it around for him to look at, he was quietly impressed (despite being into bikes and owning a mitsu 380 for a car - that I cant understand at all).

But yes, generally I find people havn't a clue what the heck the Skoda is - all the better I say. Years ago when I started driving I really enjoyed having a Golf because NOBODY i knew owned golfs at all. Nowdays everyone drives them, and frankly I prefer to be obscure.

[phaeton]

No it wasn't.
SEAT (and VW at the time) were imported into Australia by a privately owned UK distributor called Inchcape who just happens to be the same company who still has the distributorship for Subaru in Australia.
The VW factory were not involved in directly importing cars into Australia until about the year 2000.

I know that but they still had to meet targets and get marketing budgets etc from manufacturer so VW group must have learnt something with the experience.

[K1W1]

Yea how to kill a brand and go virtually broke.

[phaeton]

Yea how to kill a brand and go virtually broke.

Yeah, SEAT still only just breaking even.

[Brycem]

I think the Skoda brand image here is better than in Europe! I know certainly as a Skoda owner in the UK, it was almost a joke saying you owned one and very few people would drop the old skoda stereotype. I think Australia is a fresh start for Skoda and maybe not knowing the brands history actually works in its favour. It's better to tell people about a new brand than tell them about an old brand that's been redeveloped.

I love skoda to pieces though, I've only owned VW's Seats and one Skoda...the Skoda was the best of them all.

When did you own a Skoda in the UK and what was it?

What you describe as the position in the UK is ten years out of date.

They are now viewed by anyone with an IQ of over 100 as a mainstream product which are in the market against Renault, Peugeot, Citreon, Ford, Seat, Vauxhall and in the eyes of many journalists offer better value and better vehicles than those brands. Have a look at last week's Auto Express magazine - Skoda took a trolley full of accolades once again. Same story with What Car and Which Magazine.

The difficulty here is that VW have been greedy with pricing. They have priced on a par with VW products when in fact they cost substantially less in Europe. I know the old "you get higher specced Skodas here" line but that only cuts it so far as the VWs are higher specced too.

I own 2 cars, one a VW Golf GTI and the other a Skoda RS Wagon. The cars cost roughly the same here but in the UK the Skoda (even in Australian higher spec) costs around 6000 pounds less. There is no justification for the Australian pricing other than they want to make more profit as they sell in smaller numbers or wish to recover their start up costs. Now Audi is an entirely different ball game where pure unadulterated greed is clearly on display. The polo GTI cost 1400 pounds less than the Audi A1 sport in the UK but here the difference is $15000. BMW and Mercedes are up to the same practices. Note to self stick to non prestige brands in Australia!

[nightphotographer]

I had a 2006 Fabia VRS (TDI 130), even after leaving a Seat Leon FR (TDI 170) it is my favourite car to date. It had been tuned very nicely, I'll actually post some photos in the Skoda thread because it had a subtle dub style to it and I'm sure the aussies will appreciate seeing another VAG car that never made it to their shores (in that shape anyway!)

I understand completely about VW/Audi pricing and how VW are really milking the prestigous brand image.

[mangoburger]

I personally like the Skodas a lot, was always disappointed that VW didn't bring out a mid-size AWD diesel wagon prior to the Tiguan (I don't consider the Touareg mid-size), but Skoda had the Scout. The new Superbs live up to their name.

The Czechs are kings of irony though, to say "Škoda" means something like "What a pity". I have a few Czech and Slovak friends and they rule at being ironic.

[Molotov]

Skoda's absence from the Australian market during the 80's/90's etc. is a blessing because in most people's eyes it's a relatively 'new' brand.

I spent 4 years as a kid in the UK (1989 - 1993) and Skoda and Lada were the butt of car jokes. One of the more memorable ones was, "What's the difference between a Skoda and a Tampon? A Tampon comes with a tow rope".

I was amazed at Skoda's turn-around in the UK and how they've gone from trashed-brand in the early 90's to a respectable member of the VAG group and is probably cannibalising some of the traditional VW turf. They seem like perfectly capable cars now and completely undeserving of any of the 'old skoda' stereotypes. But old habits die hard for some so there will probably always be a generation of folk (most likely from the UK) who would never touch a Skoda.

Reminds me a bit of Hyundai and how it's no longer fair to write them off as 'Korean crap'.

[VAG newbie]

When did you own a Skoda in the UK and what was it?

What you describe as the position in the UK is ten years out of date.

Not entirely true. The other day I told one of my colleague from UK that I got a Skoda, she gave me the weirdest look, and couldn't stop laughing. I was surprised as I thought someone from UK would know it better. She told me "yes, I know they are good cars now, but I just can't help but think of all those jokes on Skoda!"

They are now viewed by anyone with an IQ of over 100 as a mainstream product which are in the market against Renault, Peugeot, Citreon, Ford, Seat, Vauxhall and in the eyes of many journalists offer better value and better vehicles than those brands. Have a look at last week's Auto Express magazine - Skoda took a trolley full of accolades once again. Same story with What Car and Which Magazine.

Yeah, anybody knows about cars will know Skodas are good cars. All expert opinions here in OZ aren't that much different from that of UK. But my concern is more on average general publics, what they think of Skoda.

The difficulty here is that VW have been greedy with pricing. They have priced on a par with VW products when in fact they cost substantially less in Europe. I know the old "you get higher specced Skodas here" line but that only cuts it so far as the VWs are higher specced too.

I own 2 cars, one a VW Golf GTI and the other a Skoda RS Wagon. The cars cost roughly the same here but in the UK the Skoda (even in Australian higher spec) costs around 6000 pounds less. There is no justification for the Australian pricing other than they want to make more profit as they sell in smaller numbers or wish to recover their start up costs. Now Audi is an entirely different ball game where pure unadulterated greed is clearly on display. The polo GTI cost 1400 pounds less than the Audi A1 sport in the UK but here the difference is $15000. BMW and Mercedes are up to the same practices. Note to self stick to non prestige brands in Australia!

That's the problem. UK being in Europe, these entry level Euro machines (Skoda, Citroen, Renault, Fiat..etc) is probably seen as budget brands anyway. But in OZ, as they are from Europe, there is a "prestige" feelings to it, therefore it's justified to give a premium on its pricing. I heard in Europe, Asian cars are not commonly seen and they are not even considered competitive in the market. Not like in OZ, even Subaru can carry a "prestige" to it, and Hyundai can even compete in the market!

[nightphotographer]

I think the true irony with Skoda is that although they're the cheapest of all the VAG cars to buy, they're statistically more reliable and that's because they get all of VAG's old tech that's tried and tested but it's so much more reliable than all of the new stuff that Audi and VW get.

That's what I heard from Skoda whilst I was in the UK, they have the highest customer satisfaction out of the entire group. And that's why my family owned 3 Skoda Fabia's at one point!

[K1W1]

What you describe as the position in the UK is ten years out of date.

Strange you say that. The ONLY negative reaction I have had to me buying aSkoda was from two friends in the UK who independently (they don't know each other) both said things to the effect, "Why are you buying such a low spec car?". The reaction I got from them would be like telling somebody here that you had just brought a Chery, and that was only about 18 months ago.

[Brycem]

Your friends obviously know little or nothing about cars. I suspect you put them straight.