Skoda Vision-D Rapid may come here

And it has Australia in its sights. Skoda chairman Winfried Vahland says the Vision-D - which is likely to be named Rapid after one of the company’s popular 1940s models - answers customers criticism of the current Octavia which they say is too big and too expensive.

“Yes, we had customer complaints in Europe about the size of the current Octavia compared with the first generation model,’’ he says at the launch of the new Citigo mini-car in Portugal.

“So we looked at a new concept that is about 4.5m long - almost as big as the current Octavia - but with a very spacious cabin and boot and better pricing.

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“The new car will start production in the second half of this year.’’ Vahland says Australia is a very important market for Skoda because of its emerging sales and its interest in quality European product.

The “Rapid’’ is made more urgent by Vahland announcing that the next Octavia - the company’s most successful product with global sales of 350,000 in 2011 - will be bigger. The 2013 Octavia will also be the first Skoda to be built on Volkswagen Group’s MQB platform program that allows simplified component sharing across all models.

“The new car for this year won’t be built on the MQB system,’‘ Vahland says. “It will be based on the Volkswagen Polo platform but made bigger. It will have a very large boot - 520 litres - because space is what our customers want.’’

The car will come first as a sedan but Skoda spokesman Piek von Bestenbostel says there are plans for a hatchback, as shown in the Vision-D concept car.

“We didn’t quite want an estate (wagon) and we liked the sloping design of the Vision-D, so it offers access to a versatile interior while looking quite distinctive,’‘ he says.

The Rapid is likely to stay with the Volkswagen Group drivetrains including a sports version under the RS badge and an all-wheel drive option.

Vahland also says the new SUV - which is being finalised in 2013 - will be bigger than the Volkswagen Tiguan but smaller than the Volkswagen Touareg.

“We are looking at a seven-seat version because we can make a larger body onto the platform,’’ he says. While he wants to expand the passenger car range, he says there are no lans to make commercial vehicles.

“There is a time to say ‘no’ or ‘wait’ - that’s the case with commercial vehicles,’’ he says. “We have to have controlled growth. At the moment, commercial vehicles don’t fit into our plans.’’