'We bring in cars people want': Why Skoda won't bring a car-based ute like the Ford Maverick or Hyundai Santa Cruz to Australia

Begging for the return of the Subaru Brumby? Wish Ford would offer its Maverick here? What about something different, like a production car based on Skoda’s Mountiaq concept?

It’s the opinion of Skoda’s Australian operation that a car-based ute simply wouldn’t work in Australia despite a cult-like following for the brands which have sold one in the past.

Speaking to CarsGuide at the launch of the facelifted Skoda Kamiq small SUV, VW Group Australia Communications boss Paul Pottinger said it would be pointless to offer such a ute in Australia.

“Australian ute buyers want certain things — they want capacity under the bonnet, they want capacity in the tray and therefore it would be of no use to us.”

“We bring in cars people want, we bring in cars people ask for.”

Although Skoda already skirts the edges of a niche automaker by offering not one, but two station wagons and sedans, these are justified by few competitors in the market say Pottinger, especially with VW mostly pulling out of the space locally.

“There’s a market for [sedans and wagons]” Pottinger says, “There’s fleet and emergency service — that is to say, Police interest — in Superb sedan.”

While Pottinger maintains the idea of a monocoque ute is totally off the table, it hasn’t stopped Skoda's global HQ from flirting with the idea of one in the past.

Through its student concept program it runs every year, Skoda built a one-off Kodiaq-based single cab ute dubbed the Mountiaq in 2019, with a near-production-look tray, sports bar, and bespoke wheels. 

Powered by a 140kW/320Nm 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbocharged engine, it boasts 290mm of ground clearance, a 10mm increase from the Kodiaq on which it's based. Complete with a snorkel, light bar, and winch, it wouldn’t have looked out of place on an Australian trail.

Offering a car-based ute or ‘pick-up’ is not without precedent for brands in Europe either, with Dacia offering a single-cab utility version of its rugged Duster SUV in prior years.

There is yet to be a version based on the current, new-generation Duster, but the previous model offered a 500kg payload and a surprisingly competitive 1650mm long tray with 224mm of ground clearance.

The spotlight has moved more toward car-based ute offerings in recent years as the ladder-frame dual-cab space has become increasingly saturated — including by Volkswagen's Amarok — and Aussies are taking more of an interest in potentially more affordable and city-appropriate models, some of which are even hybrids, offered by brands overseas.

An obvious example is the Ford Maverick, which rides on the same C2 platform as the Focus but offers a plug-in hybrid drivetrain option. It has been a runaway success for Ford in its North American home market, and the brand’s global boss Jim Farley has even said Australia may be on the radar if the factory can ever get on top of demand.

Similarly, it has been strongly hinted that Hyundai’s US-market Tucson-based ute, the Santa Cruz, will make it to Australia in its second-generation form which could be as soon as 2026. As it uses the Tucson for its underpinnings, this opens the possibility of several drivetrains, including a 2.5-litre turbo-petrol and a 1.6-litre hybrid.

Other significantly less likely options from overseas due for renewal soon include Honda’s Ridgeline, which is unlikely as it is built in America exclusively in left-hand drive for a comparatively niche audience, or the aforementioned ute version of the Dacia Duster, which the local Renault importer has previously expressed interest in.

It seems the first to market will reap the benefits or failures to be had. We’ll be watching this space.