Skoda Fabia News

One of Europe’s cheapest small cars will live on in Australia – for now. While the Skoda Scala’s future hangs in the balance due to shifting buyer preferences, plunging sales and a new-model onslaught that includes value EVs like the coming Epiq, its Fabia kid brother is treading just enough water to justify continuing importation.

The little Yugo hatchback made by now long-gone Serbian brand Zastava Automobili appears to be making a return to a market that's increasingly being dominated by new Chinese brands, and in another twist, it won't be electric.Made from 1980 to 2008 the Yugo was popular in the United States, India, Egypt and Eastern Europe. The little car was also sold in Australia before Zastava Automobili ended operations.The Yugo brand, however, has been bought by German university professor, Dr Alexander Bjelic, who plans to resurrect the small hatch that's yet to be named.While a production version is still far off, Dr Bjelic used the recent 2025 Munich Car Design Event to show off a concept version. The catch is, it's a tiny scale model in a plastic box for now with Dr Bjelic aiming to have a full-size prototype ready for the 2027 Belgrade Expo. The model shows off the little hatch’s retro-cool looks with a modern twist on the Yugo hatch. The futuristic looks may be reminiscent of a tiny version of Hyundai's Ioniq 5 electric SUV, but Yugo says its upcoming car will be powered by an internal combustion engine. The brand said an electric variant may also become available at a later point.The original Yugo hatch was known for its affordability but had a poor reputation for reliability and build quality. While the car was sold in Australia along with 76 other countries, it's uncertain whether the resurrected version will be sold in Australia.If the Yugo hatch did make it Down Under it would be up against fierce tiny rivals such as Volkswagen's Polo, the Skoda Fabia, Toyota Yaris, Suzuki Swift, MG3 and Mazda2.Still, if Yugo can price the car lower than its competitors and arrive with a design that looks as good as the concept then it could be onto a winner. 

The Skoda Fabia is the latest vehicle in the Czech brand’s range to score a more affordable variant.The brand copped some flak for having only the circa-$38,990 drive-away fully-loaded Fabia Monte Carlo on sale in Australia.Now it has introduced the Fabia Select, which is priced at $31,990 drive-away.The Fabia now slips in underneath its twin under-the-skin, the Volkswagen Polo.It puts it in the same ballpark as the smaller Mazda2 and the more fuel efficient but not as well equipped Toyota Yaris Ascent Sport Hybrid.The Fabia is powered by a three-cylinder 1.0-litre turbocharged petrol engine that makes 85kW and 200Nm matched to a seven-speed dual-clutch auto driving the front wheels.Skoda Australia Head of Product and Marketing Kieran Merrigan says the Fabia combines strong value for money and a high level of equipment.“The Fabia continues with the enormous boot and generous legroom that surpasses some vehicles from the next class up,” said Merrigan.Skoda’s global boss Klaus Zellmer foreshadowed the recently added cheaper variants. He said last year at the Munich motor show the brand had “homework to do” on its Australian pricing, especially when it came to the Fabia.Since then Skoda Australia has brought in a new entry-level $32,990 drive-away Kamiq small SUV and new $39,990 drive-away Karoq mid-size SUV.Fabia Select buyers can expect 16-inch alloy wheels, LED lighting front and back and power folding side mirrors.Inside there is an 8.25-inch multimedia screen paired with an 8.0-inch digital driver display. This is complemented by a leather-trimmed sports steering wheel and manually adjustable cloth wrapped seats.There is a wide array of safety tech included such as blind spot monitoring and rear cross-traffic alert that sounds the alarm if a car is approaching from the side as you reverse.The Fabia Select is backed by Skoda’s seven-year/unlimited km warranty and will land in showrooms from August.

Skoda’s most popular models have had their prices increased for 2023 in a range adjustment that coincides with pricing changes made by many brands at the beginning of 2023.

The ongoing supply issues that have hobbled Skoda's sales in Australia are set to ease soon, with the company's local leader predicting an end to the global semiconductor shortage.While the parts shortages and supply chain issues have impacted most manufa

If you were shocked by the high pricing of the new-generation Skoda Fabia, then we have some good news.A cheaper version of the Toyota Yaris rival will almost certainly be added to the range, making the Fabia more competitive.Skoda Australia shocked obser

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you will have noticed the cost of small cars has been on a steady rise in recent years. Skoda made headlines recently when the price of its Fabia city car effectively leaped up almost $20,000, with a new starting price of $36,990 before on-road costs - which is the same price as a Volkswagen Golf 110TSI Life.

When Skoda arrived in Australia (most recently) in 2007 it was meant to be a cheaper alternative to a Volkswagen brand that was moving upmarket. As Volkswagen moved up to be a ‘semi-premium’ brand and steal sales from more-established European premium brands, Skoda would do battle with the likes of Toyota, Hyundai and Mazda.

Episode 239 - New models incoming!

While everybody seems to be shocked and confused by the news that the latest-gen Skoda Fabia now costs about $20,000 more than before, the brand's director has revealed to CarsGuide the real reasons why he made the brand's tiniest car so expensive, and hinted that more affordable Fabias could follow.At the start of this year, the entry price into a Skoda Fabia was $18,390 before on-road costs, now the all-new Fabia has arrived in only one grade - the Monte Carlo Edition 150 - and is asking $37,990 driveaway.Just to put that in perspective you could buy a larger Skoda such as the Kamiq SUV or even Octavia wagon for less money.Even the Volkswagen Polo, which shares the same underpinnings as its Fabia cousin (both being part of the Volkswagen Group), begins at a list price a bit over $25K.So what's going on?Speaking to CarsGuide at the Australian reveal of the new-generation Fabia, Skoda Australia brand director Michael Irmer said the reason was based on only being able to secure 600 new Fabias due to supply constraints, and it was his choice about which ones to bring in."We could have 600 only, and we could either have 600 cars with hubcaps or 600 which look totally slick," he said.As far as Fabias go, they don't come much slicker than the Monte Carlo Edition 150 with its 18-inch Black Libra alloys wheels, gloss-black grille, roof top spoiler and rear diffuser.But you might think that for a car so small a buyer might be looking for something more affordable such as the previous entry-grade Fabia with hubcaps.Mr Irmer justified the price of the Monte Carlo Edition 150 saying it was good value with an extensive features list, and explained that the decision to bring in a highly-specified version of the Fabia was part of Skoda's wider strategy, which he said has been proven to work on other models."Skoda has a different clientele than normal," Mr Irmer said."It takes a different person to buy something which is not common, which not everybody else has. We call them independent thinkers. They also have fairly high incomes and extremely high education levels. This demographic wants something else. They actually have the money for a big badge, they just think it's smarter to go for a Skoda and they want the full kit. They want to have all the goodies but they don't want to be seen as a show off."Mr Irmer points out that the response to the RS version of the Kodiaq large SUV in 2020 showed that buyers wanted highly specified cars."The RS is now our most sold Kodiaq version. So we decided to try this out with the other segments and we did this with Scala and Kamiq with the Signature editions - and these turned into the most sold variants," he said."So when Fabia came out, we wondered if it was a different beast and that it being an entry segment car might mean we shouldn't do it? But then we were confronted with the news that for the foreseeable 12 months we were only going to get roughly 600 units. We know that the potential for the car is around 3000-4000 cars a year. So we thought when we only have 600 cars why don't we try the thing that worked in the other segments as well?"And then later on when we have more volume we can then look at whether we want to introduce something more affordable. That's why we introduce the Monte Carlo Edition 150 Edition because it might not last forever."It's the right decision. It's the right thing for the brand."The Skoda Fabia Monte Carlo Edition 150 Edition will launch in August 2022.