Skoda’s Kodiaq will take on all-comers
I TOLD Werner Eichhorn. I told him this was his chance for the big time. I told him that VW was so goosed in America their only chance was to re-brand. I told him that his company was in a unique situation. I told him ?Skoda was ripe to take America.
I told him that never in my experience had expectations been so high about a new car that had been so spectacularly fulfilled. I told him that this was a car that could crack America.
“Declan,” he said, smiling beatifically. “This car has been a four-year journey for me and the team behind it. It is like having a baby. The baby has arrived. And I appreciate your comments about it. We are very proud of it. But, as far as America is concerned, that’s another matter. There is no presence for us there. We have no history.”
“But surely that’s a good thing, especially with the s**t VW is in? You could completely re-brand the show. And with this car you’d be off to a great start.”
“You don’t understand the complexities of the situation,” he chided. “It may be that ourselves and others in the group have to make up the profits that may be lost elsewhere, but I don’t know that America is where ?Skoda will be. That is a decision for others to make.”
As the sales and marketing member of the board of a management at a major automotive company, Werner Eichhorn is used to tackling awkward questions, but this was not the usual sort of awkwardness he so often has to deal with.
Here he had someone praising the life out of his car and suggesting a developmental route for the company which could propel it to stratospheres previously unimagined. He undoubtedly appreciated the sentiment, but at the end of the day, the decision is never going to be ?Skoda’s to make. Others will make that determination.
And the subject of all this excitement? Well it is nothing less than ?Skoda’s first seven seat SUV —the Kodiaq — and a car which it is hoped will boost sales momentum at the ever-expanding company, but not in America.
No, the Kodiaq will instead have to ply its trade across Europe, China, and those other markets where the brand is already established. But so high are the sales projections for this car that production capacity in the Czech Republic and in China, where the Kodiaq will be manufactured, has been substantially increased.
The SUV segment — described by Eichhorn as “the hottest in the world right now” — is already bursting with contenders, but ?Skoda is confident their first ever challenger in this rapidly growing market will hit the sweet spot with a huge number of buyers. Having driven it in Spain last week, I have no doubts on that front.
WITH a range of petrol and diesel engines on offer, as well as manual and DSG auto gearboxes, the Kodiaq will have the necessary motivational armoury to take on all-comers, and blessed with very un-SUV like handling characteristics — it is truly a very well sorted beast — it will have the sort of across-the-board appeal that all too few of the genre can boast.
It is also remarkably commodious and, like many ?Skodas we have seen in the past, it makes fantastic use of interior space to provide genuine comfort for as many as seven passengers. For some of the cars in this segment, the two rear-most seats are little more than an afterthought, but the ones on offer here are genuinely useful and will even accommodate moderately sized-adults.
Bristling with so many of ?Skoda’s ‘Simply Clever’ touches — umbrellas, door protectors, child-proof electronic locks, split/folding and sliding rear seats and rakes of technological features, the Kodiaq will certainly not want for much in terms of broad appeal.
It won’t be here in Ireland until March and ?Skoda Ireland says it is still negotiating with the factory on price, so nothing has yet been fixed on that front. But, the company says it intends to keep prices pretty much in line with those in the Superb range, so good value should be the order of the day.
From what I have seen, this car is going to have a very significant future and the fact it is already collaring loads of awards would indicate that it is going to be as popular with pundits as it will be with the public. Indeed, it would not shock me to see it win the European Car of the Year title when it is announced at the Geneva Show in February/March.
It’s just a shame the Americans will never get their hands on one. A shame, Werner, a shame.
