Possible impact of Opel on Skoda next year

[VAG newbie]

As Opel is coming to Aus next year, I think it will certainly have an impact on Skoda as both will be competing on this niche entry European car market. it's quite funny that Matt Wiesner doesn't think it will have great impact and believes Opel is being too optimistic in selling 15000 cars in 3 years.

IMO, there are several advantages that Opel holds over Skoda:
1. It is German brand. Despite a lot of technology may not be German, simply having a German badge will win quite a few sales over Skoda, as many people still think Czech is communist country now.
2. The cars aren't that unfamiliar to Aussies as we had Astra, Corsa (barina) and Vectra for years. Other than Vectra, Opel cars were sales success under Holden's name.
3. The styling of Opels are more "contemporary" than Skoda's and will win more sales from Younger generation.

However, Skoda still has it's own advantage:
1. Despite it's Czech origin, it is more German than Opel as it's underpinnings are essentially VW.
2. Skoda has a better reliability record in Europe.
3. The newer generation Skoda's will look more "contemporary".

It really comes down to how much Opel will price their car and dealer network. If Opel will be backed by Holden for services and the cars are priced like what it was with Holden ($19990 for an Astra, $15990 for Corsa) then Skoda is facing serious competition.

[Jake02]

I laughed and laughed when the Opel Aus boss predicted 15,000 sales by 2015 because it's just not going to happen, no matter what they do. The thing is, Opel is a totally new brand to Australia - it's never been here before, unlike Skoda, and I struggle to see why they don't call it Vauxhall here instead (especially as the HSVs are sold as Vauxhalls in the UK) but anyway. I agree, the biggest thing will be price and I don't see that they'll be able to get them anywhere near what Holden sold them for. In many respects, the Opels before this current generation were crap, and the runt of the Euro litter (proves the Germans don't do everything right, especially with GM parts bin parts), meaning they've put their prices up.

The other thing is, the two out of three markets they're entering aren't particularly high-selling markets. Light cars are only just starting to fire up as the cars themselves become smaller versions of cars offered by manufacturers (eg a Polo is just a smaller Golf) and I'm surprised they aren't waiting until the new gen Corsa (especially as the Aus-bound model is going to have a 1.4 litre petrol engine only...). The Insignia in the premium mid-size class won't be high selling. The Astra will be their biggest seller by far and I hope it does well for them because it looks fantastic. But again, price, will affect them (Astras in the UK are really expensive). They also need the OPC variants of all three cars (they look the business).

I wish them well and to learn from Skoda Australia's mistakes, but it's going to take a while for them to fire up, that's for sure.

[anthony]

GM have always said they are challenging VW with the Opel brand locally,I dont think they have ever mentioned Skoda,as they will be priced higher than the equivalent Skoda models.

[pologti18t]

I think Opel's biggest problem will be the Holden range actually. Why buy an unknown when you can get pretty much the same car (Cruze and upcoming Malibu) from Holden at a cheaper price.

The corsa is outdated and has lacklustre drivetrains
The Astra is turbo petrol and diesel only. This could cause issues with P plate drivers. From all reports from overseas it is only a mid field drive.
Insignia - that market for cars is stagnant. Engine range has no normally aspirated model or low power petrol turbo (so no P platers can drive one). So I can't see it leading on price. Malibu will come onto the market at the same time with economical 2.5L petrol engine.

[K1W1]

Opel were coming to Australia in 2009, then 2010 now 2012. I guess one day before I die I'll see an Opel showroom in Australia somewhere.
The first Astra in Australia was a rebadged Nissan Pulsar, the next version was a rebadged Toyota Corolla. The first two versions of the Barina were rebadged Suzuki Swifts and they are now rebadged Daewoos. The sort of people who go looking for those cars wouldn't consider setting foot in a Skoda dealership anyway so from a sales point of view Mazda, Ford, Nissan and Toyota are probably where the competitive pressure will be.
As far as the Malibu is concerned if it's half as good a car as the rental I had in California a month or so ago nobody will ever buy another Commodore but I can't see and competitive pressure on a Superb.

[pologti18t]

As far as the Malibu is concerned if it's half as good a car as the rental I had in California a month or so ago nobody will ever buy another Commodore but I can't see and competitive pressure on a Superb.

The new Malibu (which we will get) will be released in the USA soon... The old Malibu (which I assume you had) was based on the old Vectra chassis (pre-Insignia). The new Malibu is based on the current Insignia chassis.

The soon to be replaced Malibu model was considered a turning point for GM in the USA.

[K1W1]

I assume that the one I drove was the old model but who cares it made a current Commodore look very ordinary in fit, finish, features, handling and I suspect economy. If the new one is better then it makes the Commodore look even worse.

[RSwag]

Price is everything, Skoda have taken a game plan of being the same as VW but optioned up e.g. Sat nav in the 1.8tsi. Time will tell whether this will work, from my point if view its a walk up start, price each equavalent mOdell $2-3k under VW/Skoda with same features and 15,000 units by 2015 is a shoe in.

By the way Jake02, I have to disagree with the notion that Skoda are controlling their destiny, like 2-3,00 units after 4 years is on par with the grand plan. They have partially succeeded in spite of themselves, but we are all aware that someone like KIWI, with more tacit knowledge than Wiesner (who appears to have none) would have achieved a much better result by now.

I think you will find that Skoda would have achieved more if it was aiming for more. Aim for mediocre and you'll probably achieve next to nothing, aim for 15,000 and you might find that 8-10,000 comes up mighty quick.

Get what I'm saying??

[VAG newbie]

It is definitely overly ambitious and optimistic for Opel to even thinking of competing with VW here in Aus. VW has been in Aus for 20 years and has established itself as a premium brand. That is why I personally think it will ultimately affect Skoda more than VW.

Of course, if Opel wants to see itself as equal to VW and tries to price it's product to VW (similar equipment), I can see it fail already. But if Opel realize the fact, and decide to price it bit lower than VW with better equipment, then it's direct competitor to Skoda. If they plan to sell 15000 cars in 3 years, they'll spend big money on advertisement and campaigns to sell the car. I hope Skoda will then feel the pressure, and hopefully will be more aggressive with advertising.

[Inego]

Opel competes on price with VW in Europe - spec for spec, the Opel is cheaper, but not Chevrolet/Daewoo/Holden cheap. It's hard to tell whether the obvious lingering links to Holden in people's minds will be a good or bad thing for Opel - recycled Opels and redesigned Opels and rebadged Opels have been sold here pretty much continuously since the Viva in the 1960s (Torana, Commodore, Barina, Astra, Vectra).

I generally agree with you about the VW brand value though. Apart from its major relaunch in the early 1990s, VW had been here up until the mid-1980s with passenger vehicles (including local assembly) and commercial vehicles a little longer. Opel is a brand new brand tryign to distance itself from Holden, even though its local brand value is inectricably linked to Holden for good or bad.

Impact on Skoda - def. some, but it depends on the products.