Skoda News

Chinese auto giant Chery may have kick-started the Chinese push into the Aussie new-car market, but in recent years a slew of other challengers from China have joined it.How’s this for a laundry list of newcomers within the last few years? BYD, Deepal, Foton, Geely, a ramped up GWM Haval, JAC, Jaecoo, LDV, Leapmotor, MG, Omoda, Smart, XPeng and Zeekr, with Aion, Avatr, GAC, Jetour, Lepas, Lynk & Co, Skywell and others waiting in the wings.Phew! Talk about an onslaught… and that’s not even taking into account other arrivals like Cupra from Spain, a reinvigorated Mahindra from India and a reborn Smart from Germany (via China).So, as an established competitor in this market do you adopt a siege mentality, pull the doona over your head and hope it all goes away or embrace the fluidity and look for opportunity in chaos?Clearly Skoda Australia Director Lucie Kuhn is an opportunity seeker because when recently asked about the dynamics of the current market, she told CarsGuide, “The Chinese will be with us. We can’t avoid it.“I think it is obvious that for every OEM in the Australian market right now the situation will be quite challenging. “But it will be for everyone, it’s not only for Skoda. It will also be for the big players a challenge to face mainly an influx from China.“It’s a matter of how you take this topic. Do you perceive it as a threat or an opportunity?” she said.And Kuhn sees Skoda’s relatively small scale as a potential advantage.“When you operate in rather niche volumes the threat of getting somehow harmed is smaller than maybe for the brands that have really significant market share.“The Chinese will grow pretty strong and get their market share; this is obvious. The next three years will be intensive for everyone.” And when asked if the brand’s ‘clever’ positioning still does enough to stand the Czech brand apart with so many new players coming in, her position is clear.“We believe so. I think in (the next three years) we have something to offer, to empower the brand, to increase the awareness, to offer this European value, consistency in products, safety, servicing, the customer experience that is around it. “I am quite sure that we will keep going and growing our sales, as well,” she said. And with a recent product refresh up and down the local Skoda range her confidence appears to be well placed.New products coming into the local Skoda portfolio include the recently launched MY26 Kodiaq (now with a flagship RS version), updated Octavia RS, fourth-gen Superb and the just-arrived Elroq compact EV SUV arriving in tandem with the updated Enyaq medium EV SUV.And soon enough they will be joined by the city-sized Epiq EV SUV and a production version of the large three-row Vision 7S, both confirmed for Australian sale by 2027.

The Volkswagen Group’s long-awaited response to cheap electric vehicles (EVs) from China is shaping up to be one of next year’s most important global debutantes.

Skoda Australia has added the finishing touch to its new, second-generation Kodiaq line-up with confirmed pricing and specification for the RS performance flagship version of the large, seven-seat SUV.

While the Toyota Corolla has sailed over 13,000 year-to-date sales (end-August) and its nearest small car rivals, the Hyundai i30 and Mazda3 both sit above the 7000 unit mark, the Skoda Scala is yet to hit triple figures and the Czech brand’s local boss has confirmed it is “under investigation” in terms of a continued presence in the Australian market.Only 97 examples of the wagon-style hatchback have found homes here so far this year, which is down 63 per cent on the same period in 2024.And when asked if the model was under review Skoda Australia Director Lucie Kuhn recently told CarsGuide, “We are right now analysing the product.“It’s actually a very good product. I would say it’s a nice car, very practical for daily usage but the car has limited sales. “It is very interesting, I would say, for rental car companies, but for private users they go in the direction of Kamiq when they make a choice.“So, it’s currently under investigation what we will do with the product. But for now it’s still with us,“ she said.The Scala review comes at a pivotal time for Skoda in Australia, with YTD sales just over 22 per cent down compared to the same period in 2024, which was itself 29 per cent behind 2023 numbers.But Ms Kuhn points to an inflow of new product which she believes will right the ship and have sales increasing strongly within the next 12 months.“In the last two years the product portfolio was coming to the end of its life. And at the beginning of this year we started the change of the portfolio and selling out the older cars. “(We are) now in the middle of our work where we finally manage to sell out the old-generation cars and we are on-boarding the new ones that are currently available.“We have everything new, all new, plus electric which is a completely new area where we haven’t been so active before,” she said. As well as a relatively low profile, comparative pricing may be playing a part in the Skoda Scala’s sales performance. Starting at $33,990 drive-away for the 1.0-litre Select, rising to $45,990 D/A for the 1.5L Monte Carlo, pricing is some way ahead of the dominant segment players.The Hyundai i30 and Toyota Corolla ranges include sub-$30K base models (before on-road costs), but when asked if Skoda might execute a smaller volume, higher profit margin strategy in similar fashion to Honda and Mazda, Kuhn is emphatic.“We started eight months ago where we actually wanted to make our portfolio more affordable to more customers. “So, rather than more top versions like RS, we extended the range. That’s why we have the Select range. We also have the packages which are between Sportline and Select.“The portfolio is more affordable for the customers than it used to be in the past,” she said.

Look out, BYD Sealion 7, Kia EV5, Tesla Model Y and other EVs sourced from China, because Skoda from Europe is gate-crashing the value end of the family SUV segment in Australia.

Affordable Skoda EV on the way.

Skoda Australia Head of Marketing & Product Kieran Merrigan has confirmed a raft of new pure-electric and hybrid models for local sale over the next three years, including high-performance RS EVs, two plug-in hybrids and production versions of recently unveiled high-profile concept SUVs.

Skoda Australia has confirmed the introduction of a ‘130 Years Edition’ version of its Kamiq compact SUV aimed at putting a market share dent in volume category competitors like the Hyundai Kona, Mazda CX-30, Nisan Qashqai, Toyota Corolla Cross & VW T-Roc.

The latest safety assessment results released by the Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP) have confirmed maximum five-star results for a trio of recent arrivals - the Kia Carnival, Mercedes-Benz E-Class and Skoda Superb.

It’s been over five years now since COVID lockdowns started and in some way it feels like a lifetime ago. For a lot of people buying new cars during this period, however, there were long wait times. COVID lockdowns were a key reason for this, but another major reason for delays was the global shortage of semiconductors.