Little Skoda Citigo will come here

Skoda hopes the Citigo - a version of the Volkswagen Up that gets here late this year – will boost its annual sales here to 10,000 per year. 

It’s banking on riding a projected baby car wave driven by traffic congestion, rising fuel prices and limited parking spaces.

Three mini-cars are already here and, from late this year, Volkswagen will start a second onslaught that will be followed by Skoda and even Kia and Citroen. 

More than 10 per cent of cars sold around the world fall into the mini-car category. It’s the second biggest sector - the biggest is the medium-sized cars - and is just taking off in Australia. In 2011, more than 11,000 cars in the mini-car category were sold.

The attraction of the Citigi is fuel economy - 4.7 litres/100km or about half a Toyota Camry - and price. Skoda hasn’t put a price on its Citigo three and five-door models yet but its parent, Volkswagen, is likely to sell the Up from about $15,000. 

The European-built Up and Citigo have the maximum five-star crash rating, come with a host of safety equipment, are fun to drive and will seat four adults.

Current rivals include the Suzuki Alto and Hyundai i20 - both made in India - and the Holden Spark from Korea. Skoda spokesman Piek von Bestenbostel believes the sector will attract more players and many will look at Australia for buyers. 

He says the Citroen C1, Peugeot 107 and Toyota Aygo are competitors to the Citigo and could find a new market in Australia, especially given the current strength of the Australian dollar that makes it cheaper to import products.