Skoda Auto Sales in Australia via vfacts

[brad]

whereas Skoda just keeps on improving.

Oh yeah. Doing so well in Australia. I bet that 1 extra car was a dealer registration to get them over the line.

Thank God Matthew Weisner is gone. Hopefully his replacement will kick some goals.

[Jake02]

Oh yeah. Doing so well in Australia.

Brad, you know what I mean - internationally Skoda are doing very well. They're both doing crap in Australia but that's more excusable for Opel as they've been here only a few months; we all know how long Skoda has been here. I've seen one Opel - an Insignia Select saloon that is owned by Opel Australia - on the roads.

[brad]

Brad, you know what I mean - internationally Skoda are doing very well. They're both doing crap in Australia but that's more excusable for Opel as they've been here only a few months; we all know how long Skoda has been here. I've seen one Opel - an Insignia Select saloon that is owned by Opel Australia - on the roads.

Honestly, I didn't.

All that matters is the AUS market as far as I'm concerned. If they fold in AUS then it does matter if the sell a billion cars everywhere else.

Strangely, I've seen many Opels (the little ones) - possibly as many each day as I see Skoda.

[VAG newbie]

According to this article in the Sydney Morning Herald Skoda sales were just 1 more than last year What's hot and what's not

Given the market was up 10%, Skoda market share has fallen in 2012. Not a good result given the range was expanded with the introduction of Fabia.

There are allegations of some European manufacturers 'dumping' cars on the Australian market because of lack of demand in Europe. If VW was one of those then it would have hurt Skoda.

Well, there we go, 2012 sales figure. 2011 sales + 1. That's a horrible result, considering 2011's sale figure wasn't anything to be excited about.

Opel has sold more cars than Skoda in November, that is very concerning. They've only been in here for 2 months and they outsold Skoda already, and Opel is doing a lot worse worldwide. What is going on here?

That article is saying that Skoda is depending on Rapid to boost up its sales. All I can say is, unless Rapid is priced reasonably (something like $17990 drive away or $19990 drive away with DSG), it's not gonna do well.

But looks like VW wants to kill Skoda here, (in order to push up their sale into the top 5) the Rapid will probably priced at $22990 manuel with barebone equipment plus ORC. You would expect to pay $45000+ drive away for a fully loaded Rapid. (And you still have to add $1000 to retrofit a RVC cuz Skoda won't offer it)

The new Octavia will probably start at $30990 for a 1.4TSI Manuel, and $47990 RS TDI with DSG.

And we will see Skoda bailing out of the Australian market soon!

BTW, who is the new boss in Skoda Aus now? Didn't know that Matt Wiesner got sacked. But whoever the boss is only a puppet. VW Aus has the real power. So nothing will change.

[aware]

2011 + 1 - Skoda must be happy with that result. Will Skoda still exist in the Australian market in 5 years time? I personally prefer Skoda to VW, but obviously the Australian population as a whole does not agree.

I haven't seen any Opels as of yet (apart from driving past a dealership).

[K1W1]

But looks like VW wants to kill Skoda here, (in order to push up their sale into the top 5) the Rapid will probably priced at $22990 manuel with barebone equipment plus ORC. You would expect to pay $45000+ drive away for a fully loaded Rapid. (And you still have to add $1000 to retrofit a RVC cuz Skoda won't offer it)

The new Octavia will probably start at $30990 for a 1.4TSI Manuel, and $47990 RS TDI with DSG.

And we will see Skoda bailing out of the Australian market soon!

And the basis for these statements is?

I assume that you have factual information and that these are not just the dribble coming from a person who in very post tries to degrade Skoda.

Put your balls on the line if you have any and tell us the basis for your statements.

[bobski]

I'm a bit confused. One article has them up by 90% at half year and another having a total of 1 more vehicle than 2011. Suppose we should wait for some official figures before jumping to conclusions.

[aware]

And the basis for these statements is?

I assume that you have factual information and that these are not just the dribble coming from a person who in very post tries to degrade Skoda.

As opposed to someone who likes to argue with every person in every post?

[aware]

I'm a bit confused. One article has them up by 90% at half year and another having a total of 1 more vehicle than 2011. Suppose we should wait for some official figures before jumping to conclusions.

FCAI has 2011 sales at 3,501. 2012 sales of 3,502 (CarAdvice)

[VAG newbie]

And the basis for these statements is?

I assume that you have factual information and that these are not just the dribble coming from a person who in very post tries to degrade Skoda.

Put your balls on the line if you have any and tell us the basis for your statements.

I was being sarcastic here. But based on previous/current pricing with Skoda's, I won't be surprised if these are the actual pricing.

Think about Roomster when it first came out, in 2008 straight after GFC, I believed they priced it at $29990 for a manual 1.9TDI.

I can't remember what was the price for Octavia, but vaguely something in the mid $30's.

Superb Ambition was originally priced at $43990! Even now at $38990, Ambition is still too expensive!

For Yeti, VWA was originally gonna price the Yeti 1.2TSI at somewhere close to the $30k, until they felt the pressure from rivals, that they lower the price to $26990. Fabia is still ridiculously priced at $18990 starting price.

In fact, I might be still a bit optimistic in predicting the Rapid at $22990. Based on VWA policy, the equivalent Skoda should priced at 10% cheaper than its VW rivals, irrespective of the equipment level. The entry level Jetta costs $26490, so Rapid will be 10% cheaper at $23840.

I'm not trying to degrade Skoda. I love my Skoda and I am planning to get another Superb after my current lease finishes. But what p**s me off is that VWA has full control of its pricing and equipment level, and what they've done so far is just to protect the VW brand by killing Skoda. What's my basis of saying this? The stupid 10% lower pricing policy for the equivalent Skoda! Why are they competing the 2 sister brands? Why can't they price Skoda based on other rival brands like Hyundai or Kia? Even Mazda or Toyota?

I don't think Skoda's failure here in Aus is due to Australian's reluctance of accepting unknown brand. If you deliver a product that consumer wants, we will accept! Kia and Hyundai are the best proof of it. Skoda makes far superior cars than Hyundai and Kia, and it has such a potential to succeed! Yet VWA can manage to sell only 1 more car than 2011, that's just beyond belief. And my explanation for that, is the ridiculous pricing. It just won't attract people to sit behind the wheel to appreciate how good the car is.

Even for me, a die hard Skoda fan, if by 2014 when my lease is due, and Superb is still the current price with current equipment level, I find it very hard to justify buying it over Passat, which would be better equipped at the same price, or a Mazda6, which is cheaper and much better equipment (and arguably better looking).