Skoda Boss Maier: "We Have More Arrows In Our Quiver"

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Skoda Boss Maier: "We Have More Arrows In Our Quiver"
Skoda Boss Maier: "We Have More Arrows In Our Quiver"

Video: Skoda Boss Maier: "We Have More Arrows In Our Quiver"

Video: Skoda Boss Maier: "We Have More Arrows In Our Quiver"
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First came the Kodiaq and now the Karoq. As part of its growth course, Skoda is relying on other majority-capable SUV models. They play a key role in the strategy of the VW subsidiary.

By Frank Mertens

As the world premiere of the Skoda Karoq on Thursday evening in Stockholm after the acclaimed performance of the Swedish rock and pop band Mando Diao is slowly coming to an end, Skoda boss Bernhard Maier gets back into the Czech carmaker's new compact SUV.

No journalist asks him any more questions about sales, about growth targets in this and the coming years - not even about how many SUVs will come next to the Kodiaq and Karoq. Maier can pause for a moment. From the driver's seat he strokes the headliner and the dashboard, takes a quick look around the interior - and gets out after a few minutes. He seems visibly satisfied with what his developers and he have put on the wheels.

Market launch of the Karoq at the end of October

The Karoq will succeed the Yeti at the end of October. The Yeti is the car that polarized with its appearance - and precisely because of this it stood out positively from the mass of softened SUVs. But when it comes to increasing the sales of a model, polarizing is not something that a manufacturer that is intent on further growth can afford.

If you are critical of Skoda, you could say that the Czechs have lost a little courage at Karoq. Instead of continuing to polarize as with the Yeti, the design of the Karoq is mainstream. Just like Seat did with the Ateca, the sister model.

It is obvious that Maier sees things completely differently with his lost courage, as he says in an interview with Autogazette. “With the Skoda Kodiaq, we have transferred our new, emotional design language to the SUV segment for the first time. Now we're taking the next step with the Karoq. In this way we create an independent appearance for our SUV models within our product range,”says Maier. With its clear brand and product identity, the Karoq would clearly differentiate itself from its competitors, adds the CEO. He also referred to the customer surveys in Europe and China. The feedback from customers was positive.

Uncompromising design polarized

Ultimately, it doesn't matter whether the CEO especially likes a new car, but rather the customer has to like it. After all, it is he who ultimately decides whether to buy. As Maier says, he too found the Yeti awesome and loved driving it. “The success of the current Yeti is undisputed. And yet we know that this uncompromising design has polarized again and again. We were unable to reach some potential customers in the past."

Only with the new platform of the VW Group, which was optimally designed for the latest Skoda model, completely new possibilities arose with which a modern, majority-capable vehicle could be put on the wheels. Having a majority is important here. The Yeti achieved an average of 100,000 sales per year. That's good, but not good enough when measured against the potential of the compact SUV segment. There is more - and Skoda is also relying on the Karoq.

Profitable growth

But as always, Skoda does not only focus on sales, but on profitable growth. This is precisely where the new SUV models play a key role. After the Kodiaq and the Karoq, other SUV models will follow, even if Maier doesn't want to say much more than that: "We have only just started our SUV offensive and have even more arrows in the quiver."

Looking at the sales figures, one could assume that Skoda urgently needs a sales push through its SUVs. In April, 97,300 units worldwide were only slightly above the level of the same month last year. And after four months, the plus with 380,800 vehicles is just 1.8 percent. Is Maier concerned about these stagnating numbers?

Obviously not. “The new Kodiaq has only just started and the incoming orders make us very confident. The facelifted Octavia, which was launched in the first quarter, is also very well received. Maier seems pretty relaxed about his statements. He knows about the power of his models - and about the power of majority-capable SUVs like the Kodiaq and the Karoq - and what other SUVs will roll out from Mlada Boleslav in the near future.

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