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Are the Skoda Octavia and Kodiaq RS the last of their kind? Electric cars prompt shift in strategy as sporty Enyaq SUV edges closer to Australia

The Octavia RS makes up about 50 per cent of total Octavia sales in Australia.

Skoda’s push into electrification could well have put the kibosh on an expansion of its range of RS models - at least the internal combustion engine versions.

While Skoda’s Australian arm continues to push its Czech parent company to develop more RS performance variants, the focus is firmly on an electric future.

Currently the only RS-badged models are the Octavia medium liftback and wagon, and the Kodiaq large seven-seat SUV, following the demise of the Fabia RS at the end of the second-gen model’s lifecycle.

Australia typically skews heavily towards performance models, with a number of manufacturers like BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Hyundai and more claiming that Australia is one of the biggest markets globally for their respective performance arms like M, AMG and N.

Speaking with CarsGuide recently, Skoda Australia director Michael Irmer said that he does push his company’s global HQ to produce more RS models, given the high take-up in Australia.

“We do that and because we have such a high mix, we actually matter when it comes to those things. But at the moment, I think the focus of the factory is to concentrate on successfully nailing the transformation in e-mobility, which is already much more advanced in the European scope … so the portfolio will see much much more electrification, and that comes with a whole heap of different challenges,” he said.

“It's definitely very interesting for us and we continue on doing it - every brand needs those kind of halo cars and so do we.”

The idea of a Karoq or Kamiq RS is surely an appealing one for both Skoda Australia and local Skoda performance fans, but the next RS model will be something different.

The coming Enyaq electric SUV - Skoda’s first dedicated EV based on Volkswagen Group’s MEB platform that also underpins the VW ID family of models - will be offered in RS guise.

The Enyaq Coupe RS pumps out 220kW and 460Nm – the same power outputs as its twin under the skin, the VW ID.5 GTX, and it can cover 0-100km/h in 6.5 seconds – 0.3 seconds slower than the GTX, but 0.2 seconds quicker than an Octavia RS.

Skoda will start taking orders for the Enyaq SUV and Coupe in the second half of next year ahead of deliveries kicking off in the first quarter of 2024.

The RS currently accounts for about 50 per cent of total Octavia sales in Australia. Mr Irmer said that level of volume means the company could technically drop all other non-RS Octavia variants without impacting sales too much.

“In theory we could, right now for Octavia, say we offer the RS for instance, only exclusively. We could do that. But we chose not to do that yet at this stage because there's still a space especially for fleet buyers,” he said.

“This is the number one fleet model for us ... although it's not really big at the moment because of the supply issues, but we're not prepared at the moment to only offer the RS for the Octavia. But it would be possible and I'd be confident we could do that without much loss of volume.”

Despite the thoughts of dropping all other Octavia grades, Mr Irmer said Skoda is committed to passenger cars in Australia, adding that the Octavia and Superb will continue on for some time yet.

“What we are finding actually, the passenger cars in our portfolio have not been declining in volume. The reality is, it's not a demand issue. And the segment is down but the exit of so many competitors has created greater opportunity for the remaining models, including ours, and there's not many left. So we have no issue with two cars because they continue to perform to their volumes as before, despite the market segment in decline because of less competition.”

Skoda has previously confirmed that a next-generation Superb was locked in and would be built alongside the next-gen Passat in Turkey. The Superb will continue to be offered in liftback and wagon guise, while the Passat will move to a wagon-only proposition.

Mr Irmer confirmed that the limited edition 140TSI Octavia would eventually become a permanent member of the range but it will adopt the Sportline moniker found on models like the Karoq.

He also blamed the slow sales of Octavia this year on stock shortages caused by a number of issues, but the major block was a fire at the factory of its seat trim supplier which has caused a five-month disruption to production.

To the end of July this year Skoda has sold 724 Octavias, which is a 14.6 per cent drop compared with the same period last year, while the Superb is up by 17.8 per cent with 490 units shifted.