Skoda Octavia 2009 News

Czech brand Skoda and British carmaker Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) have revealed which models will be recalled as part of the wide-spread mandatory Takata airbag call back.

A number of potentially hazardous faults have been identified in vehicles sold in Australia, prompting a wide range of recalls.

US owners of VW cars with diesel engines that can cheat emissions tests have already been given $500, but local owners still have no compensation.

Three weeks after the global scandal broke, Australian owners of VW diesel cars finally know if their car is affected or not.

...but not the RS car being tweaked now at the Nurburgring for local deliveries next year. It will be packed with more than 160 kiloWatts of turbo power and the usual go-faster dress-up gear including a rear spoiler and four fat exhaust pipes. It's for Golf GTi fans who want something a bit bigger with a boot. Here early in 2014 for less than $40,000.  

...but Skoda Australia engineers, in a world coup, have produced a one-off RS Octavia that shows the car has much more to offer. The team of engineers were given a free hand to tinker with the RS. The RS-P (P for project) had its first on-track outing at Camden airport near Sydney on Tuesday, with engineers evaluating its ride and handling. The RS was given massive brakes, a 14-way adjustable suspension so engineers could adjust the ride height, dampening and rebound rates, a larger exhaust system and substantial bracing. No changes were made to the engine - that comes next - although a new air filter and the changes to the exhaust have already lifted power from the 2-litre TSI petrol engine from 147Kw in the standard RS to 154kW. Motoring journalists were given track rides and the verdict from the passenger seat: there are still some understeer issues but the car's handling and braking is awesome. Skoda plans to develop the RS-P further but is keeping tight lipped as to its future.

And it wasn’t done any favours by offering unusual looks and no automatic transmission. But Skoda is not giving up on it just yet. The little people mover has sold just 66 over the whole of 2008 and is lagging behind that sales level this year. “The numbers speak for themselves,” Skoda Australia head Matthew Wiesner admits. “We didn’t give it enough attention – probably through the fact that we had to focus on (medium-size passenger) Octavia to give us best cut-through and best return on investment. “Quite frankly, Roomster has suffered a bit because of that.” However Wiesner says that situation will change next year. “There will be a facelift in the new year – and some drivetrain changes and updates — which means we will then give Roomster the focus it requires, and give it the space to be a far better contribution to what we’ve been doing. Wiesner says that the Roomster has also been hampered by not having an automatic transmission. “Having it in manual only doesn’t help in the Australian market. People want an auto. “And it is a quirky design – you either love it or you don’t. “Is there a market for it? Yes, but it’s a niche market definitely. “But do you give up on it? No. Now that we’ve had a few focus groups, we now better understand who a Roomster owner is – and what they do and how. “They are very different to an Octavia buyer. We now don’t assume they will pick up on us as a brand by what we’re doing with Octavia, so we’ll start to target them specifically.” Wiesner says Skoda missed the mark in thinking there “might been some carryover between wagons, given what Roomster represents”. “But there is quite a distance even between a wagon buyer and somebody interested in Roomster – but their intentions, their motivations and interests are very different. “They are incredibly practical … we just need to be practical about how we talk to them. And we haven’t done that well yet. No question.”  

So confident that the new car market will bounce back, Skoda is positioning itself for the return to normal business by adding another six dealers to its national network before the end of the year.Skoda Australia boss Matthew Wiesner says Skoda is no longer the brand no one knows, with dealers attracting increased inquiries which resulted in a growing order bank."We are confident about the market and we are well positioned to gain a bigger foothold. Being part of the VW group has helped; customers are following what we are doing and we are starting to see the order bank grow," Wiesner said. `It's pleasing to see a vote of confidence in the brand."Skoda will expand its national footprint of 20 metropolitan dealers by adding another six in Melbourne, Sydney, Albury, Hobart, Launceston and in Queensland.The Czech brand, one of the oldest in the world and part of the giant VW empire, was relaunched in Australia 18 months ago.Skoda, coming off a low volume, is one of only four car brands to increase sales this year along with Audi, Hyundai and Jaguar. Up to the end of the last month, Skoda's sales were up 12.7 per cent over the same period last year.Skoda already sells its Octavia and its more potent brother the Octavia RS, as well as the Roomster lifestyle hatch.They will be joined by the new prestige flagship the Superb in June, the all-wheel drive Scout wagon in October while a new RS Octavia is due in September.In the wings may come the Yeti, an all-wheel drive wagon based on the VW Tiguan, and the Fabia, a light Polo-sized hatch, both of which Skoda Australia is developing a business case for their inclusion. 

Fresh-faced and with stronger engines, the new car arrives here in September along with a new-look Scout wagon. The RS gets a contemporary look based on other models in the recently-released Octavia range. But it hits harder with a different valance, fog lights, body-coloured trim and LED tail lights. The punch is the choice of a 147kW direct petrol injection 2-litre turbo mated to either a seven-speed DSG dual-clutch or a six-speed manual transmission as Skoda moves closer to align drivetrains with parent Volkswagen. Optional is a 125kW 2-litre turbo-diesel with the same transmission choices. Skoda Australia boss Matthew Wiesner says the company's range in Australia is being tightened and adjusted to maximise appeal. Speaking from the Czech Republic, he admits there are gaps in the range. The Scout, which arrives in its new form in September, still has no automatic option. "But its coming," says Wiesner. "It's only available as a manual from the factory _ it is not sold anywhere as an automatic _ but we've been fighting for an auto on the basis that Australia is a special market that needs this option. "Finally, there's clarity in the issue and I'd expect a DSG version perhaps within 12 months." Modifying the Skoda line up has seen the workhorse 1.9-litre turbo-diesel dropped from the Octavia range. The replacement as the entry-level model is the 1.6-litre petrol-engined sedan at $26,990 _ a price Weisner says gives entry into a price segment usually occupied by small cars. Octavia models now come as a 1.6 and 1.8-litre petrol and the 2-litre 103kW turbo-diesel. The Roomster will be retained despite having a practically invisible road presence. "We're looking at some ideas with Roomster," Wiesner says. "It gets a face lift in mid-2010 and were prepared to persist because we see potential in this product. "It is possible that sales will increase when we get Yeti because they would complement each other," he says of the Skoda small SUV that's earmarked for Australia. Yeti will join the upmarket Superb saloon as new entrants. "Roomster is being bought by young people and retired people. It's very difficult to pinpoint it because its market is broad." Wiesner says the Yeti wasn't being considered as just another product line. Rather, it will give Skoda entry into a younger demographic of buyers. That would be assisted by the Yeti's two-wheel drive option _ it will come standard as an on-demand all-wheel drive _ that would offer the SUV package but at a reduced price. However, the 2WD could be seen as a future replacement for Roomster. Wiesner says the Volkswagen Group was holding up well on global markets and Skoda was part of that modest success. "Skoda has been helped in Europe because of the scrappage system which has helped new car sales, and also because of presence in China," he says. "We're in a better position than some because we are under exposed in places like the US and Japan." In Australia he says sales are steady, up 12 per cent for the year compared with the corresponding period in 2008. "Hopefully we're growing on a wave," he says.

The Czech branch of the Volkswagen group is still struggling to get established in Australia and the value-added strategy is part of a plan to create more showroom traffic and cut-through in one of the world's most competitive marketplaces. Skoda has also changed the engine direction on its starter car, trading a turbodiesel for a high-tech petrol-powered Octavia as it cuts the entry level from $29,990 to $26,990. The new hero for the brand is a 1.8-litre TSI with turbocharging and direct fuel injection. It will also be available with a seven-speed DSG manu-matic gearbox. "It's simple, it's honest, it drives well," the head of Skoda in Australia, Matthew Weisner, says. "The Octavia is still a medium-sized car, but with this price we're driving down into the top end of the small-car market. We're pushing down, not driving up." Weisner admits Skoda has done better with its higher-priced niche cars, particularly the Octavia RS, but needs to convert more customers to create the critical mass essential to success. He believes the facel-ifted Octavia, which is revealed to the Australian press this week, is the car for the job and sets the direction for the upcoming Superb prestige model. "The focus is on refinement. The old car wasn't that bad, no it was good, but this is better," Weisner says. "It's in line with how we're evolving. We're premium, with value. And this lifts us to the next level." Skoda is actually running against the sales trend after two months of 2009, improving its year-over-year results by about 7.5 per cent when the overall market is down by 15 points. Even so, Weisner is not about to get into predictions. "We don't mention targets. You look at volume, yes, but also how the brand is evolving," he says. "Would we have liked to sell more cars last year? Yes. Definitely. But we had to try a few things, we had to test the market." "Now we are moving to the next level."