Where are the sales figures?

[Transporter]

Wrong on the nobody ever heard of.
They used to sell Mahinda Jeeps in NZ in the early 1970's. They were probably the most awful vehicle from a construction point of view I have ever seen and their reliability was worse. I assume that the build and reliability has improved but they are forever tarnished in my mind.

---------- Post added at 10:41 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:31 PM ----------



Thank you.
I know that the fan boys take my posts on the subject as being negative but that is far from the truth. I really like Skoda as a brand and know that it deserves to succeed in this market but the reality is that they are only just treading water compared to the competition and at the moment based on the real sales they are probably at the stage of swallowing an awful lot. Fans will point to VW's deep pockets and to the fabled European long term planning both of which are true but at the end of the day the ONLY measure of longevity and success in the auto industry is registered vehicles on the road and to that end Skoda Australia have done an appallingly bad job and deserve a right royal kick up the backside. As I said in an earlier post in this thread for sales to be averaging a handful per dealer per week on average after 5 years in the market and the generally positive response they have had from the motoring press is woeful. In the last 30 months months three supposedly killer class leading vehicles have been introduced and yet not one of them has been able to be sold in any great numbers. That alone points to a failure somewhere.

Which market? K1W1, they already did succeed, look at the Skoda globally, the company is based in the country with less than 10,000,000 people and they have like 1.6% of the world’s car market (I’m not sure how accurate it is but it doesn’t matter)

http://www.vwwatercooled.org.au/foru...rge-61113.html it's last year's post in this forum.

You probably just comparing Australian market , but why would you want to compete against Holden, who can sell their cars only to the Middle East and only after they rebadged them.

We have around 22,000,000 people on this continent, which used to buy Holden, Ford and Toyota for decades. Why on earth would you go and spend a big money on advertising, when there are only a limited number of people who will buy a new car every year? They can't pinch all the sales from the leading brands in here. There are bigger brands globally and they sell fewer cars here. Go and find out how many new cars were sold in Australia compared to the other continents and countries.

Just look at the links bellow.

Skoda Auto sees Indian car market as very important: Targets 50% sales growth for 2012 | Rush Lane

The Skoda’s worldwide sales surged 15 per cent to 879,200 last year. More here... Skoda shifts up a gear into the fast lane - FT.com

Skoda Plans 1.5M Sales Globally and 500,000 in China in 2018

Skoda expects sales in China to total 500000 vehicles in 2018

From the above, I didn't see even once to mention Australia.
Skoda has to be selling the cars where the buyers are and it is not Australia, sure they want to maintain the presence here because it is a continent but we have less population than many small countries in Europe.

[spellbound]

Spot on Transporter , our crowded market makes it very difficult to get a foot hold , check how pug , renault and alfa have struggled over the years , and come to mention it , VW in the 90's , just a shadow of today .

Probably why skoda does not even bother with the US , too many brands , i think they have done quite well when you consider the octavia is late 90's looks , fabia frumpy , when these are replaced you wil see an up swing .

[woofy]

Wrong on the nobody ever heard of.
They used to sell Mahinda Jeeps in NZ in the early 1970's. They were probably the most awful vehicle from a construction point of view I have ever seen and their reliability was worse. I assume that the build and reliability has improved but they are forever tarnished in my mind.

---------- Post added at 10:41 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:31 PM ----------



Thank you.
I know that the fan boys take my posts on the subject as being negative but that is far from the truth. I really like Skoda as a brand and know that it deserves to succeed in this market but the reality is that they are only just treading water compared to the competition and at the moment based on the real sales they are probably at the stage of swallowing an awful lot. Fans will point to VW's deep pockets and to the fabled European long term planning both of which are true but at the end of the day the ONLY measure of longevity and success in the auto industry is registered vehicles on the road and to that end Skoda Australia have done an appallingly bad job and deserve a right royal kick up the backside. As I said in an earlier post in this thread for sales to be averaging a handful per dealer per week on average after 5 years in the market and the generally positive response they have had from the motoring press is woeful. In the last 30 months months three supposedly killer class leading vehicles have been introduced and yet not one of them has been able to be sold in any great numbers. That alone points to a failure somewhere.

I think we all know the failure comes from Skodas leadership here locally, and whatever VW boss has his hand up Matts nether regions. What might have worked better was having Skoda fight on its own with backing from CZ, I'm sure pricing would have been a lot less from the get go, but then they might have burned and left quicker. Either way its hard for Skoda to do anything well when the people in charge here are protecting their own interests with VW and arguably Audi as well. I'm not sure but I thought SKoda UK who are their shining example are not part of VAG UK. We are seeing the global internal conflict of VW wanting SKoda to do well, but not cut their own grass, but on a very much public and local scale.

I would suggest rather than repeated posts on here, that owners get onto SKoda OZ and tell them exactly what they think, as you would all notice, they don't send any mechanism to determine feedback, no surveys whatsoever, just more a spray and pray approach to selling cars. It really says something when they don't want to know what current owners think, and shows an extremely bad business plan, our quality system auditors would crucify us if we didn't check the pulse on how we are doing every now and again.

George unfortunately was about the only Skoda related person I know who geniunely wanted feedback, apart from some of the guys at Bayford, of course none of them are around anymore. Anyway I have sent them a letter letting them know that instead of getting better they have actually declined as they aren't reading this, and to keep showing their scores in the JD power surveys from the UK is meaningless when they emulate nothing that the UK SKoda does here and don't even attempt to try.

They are great cars and Skoda CZ is a great company, we just have to put up with a half assed hobby of VWs here unfortunately.

[RSwag]

@Transporter

We all realise that Skoda globally are doing some amazing things. I dont think any of us expect the brand to compete with Mazda or Holden. I think the frustration has arisen from a product that is clearly superior to its competitors floundering because of pricing, poor marketing and a shambolic dealer network.

What you fail to see is that although we are a small market this in terms of their potential growth is irrelevant. The features i outlined for the Octy were never highlighted to the intended audience, they had 5 years to tell the Australian public who they are, what they can offer and why they should be the prefered choice and they havent even been able to establish the most basic thing, brand recognition.

As an organisation they have ignored the most basic of guidelines for getting a product to market. Any other brand would have disssppeared, they remain because VW Oz put up the funds. It appears they put up the funds only to stifle any success, from the outside looking in, which we all are, it is a ridiculous scenario that i think posters are fed up with.

As i've said previously KIWI has made valid points which suggest he would be more than capable of doing a significantly better job at running the brand.

It all comes back to VW seeing Skoda as an experiment, something it appears they are doing at the expense if current owners!!

[brad]

All the money they pissed up on the wall with the cycling .

The other car forum i run has a fairly fanatical group of cyclists. They are also car nuts & fully aware of the Skoda brand (there are 3 Octavias on the forum). Most of them have changed cars since Skoda came on the market & they test drove Skoda.

So what do they own? (in order from the biggest cycling nut downwards)
Lotus Evora (just sold an Elise) & Ford Fiesta
BMW 325 petrol sedan & 320 diesel wagon
Honda Jazz with a typeR engine & 30yo civic for parking at the station
Range Rover Evoque & a Turbo Renault
Land Rover Disco 4(?) & Renault Clio RS
Liberty H6 wagon & Honda CRV (did have a MKV Golf GTI)
Skoda Wagon & Mazda MX5 with extensive chassis mods
Honda Accord Euro & Subaru Forrester
Other stuff I can't remember.

My point is that sponsorship of cycling isn't converting into sales in Australia.

Another example is a female friend who is reasonably adventurous with her cars. She currently drives an Alfa Romeo diesel. She drove my Octavia a few years back & said if ever I want to sell it, can she get first option. She's currently looking at replacing the Alfa & Skoda isn't on her radar (but VW & Audi are).

EDIT: The Mahinda Pik-Up looks like a good ute. Now I have the Octy, I'm looking for a dedicated 4WD.

Don't do it. I've had a look at them (a while back) & the technology is quite similar to the Series 2 Land Rovers I did my apprenticeship on in the late 70s (& the Series 2 was pretty old then). Maybe they've improved but the original ones tha Micheal Tynan brought in had no synchro on 1st (& 2nd?).

[Mysticality]

did you punch him?


seriously, I am seeing more and more shhkodas on our roads daily .. the trend will continue. Like the ad used to say: "It won't heppen overnight, but it will heppen."

Very tempted. Should have. XD

There's a business around here that has a white pre-FL vRS diesel. Complete with company advertising. I was very impressed.

Then, there was the mother, father and 2 or 3 kids frantically waving as they saw an exact copy of daddy's car driving past (blue FL vRS wagon).
Then there's the silver and anthracite vRS's I see driving around.
Everyone waves. Its great.

Well, except the drivers of the lower-spec models. And the Scout, which is floating around somewhere.

Haven't actually seen anything thats not an Octy... Or a Yeti. Seen two of those.

Don't do it. I've had a look at them (a while back) & the technology is quite similar to the Series 2 Land Rovers I did my apprenticeship on in the late 70s (& the Series 2 was pretty old then). Maybe they've improved but the original ones tha Micheal Tynan brought in had no synchro on 1st (& 2nd?).

I've been reading a few things on the ute, and it looks pretty nice. Might head down to the tractor place that has one as a work ute. Dual cab with body-tray.
No synchro's? What?? That has to be the ones from the 70's... Right?

[brad]

I've been reading a few things on the ute, and it looks pretty nice. Might head down to the tractor place that has one as a work ute. Dual cab with body-tray.
No synchro's? What?? That has to be the ones from the 70's... Right?

Nope. It's the modern one.

I live near to where the importer has all his dealerships (Tynan is a very successful car salesman - he's worth millions). It appears that a lot of his tech staff (who wouldn't normally get a vehicle) have Mahindras as company drives. I'd assume it was because nobody was buying them & they wanted to get some registrations on the board (common among all the brands).

You'd be better off with a Great Wall or a Ssangyong or a Suzuki Jimny. Don't say I didn't warn you

[Mysticality]

Great Wall or a Ssangyong or a Suzuki Jimny. Don't say I didn't warn you

Stigma about the GW, Ssangyong I don't think come with diesel, and the Jimny (which I would love) is a little small for cargo and doesn't come in diesel.
If it did, I'd be all over it in a flash.

[brad]

Stigma about the GW

You're considering a Mahindra but concerned about the stigma of a Great Wall. OMGROFLCOPTER!!!

Well, I guess if you buy a Mahindra then everyone that works at Eagle Boys, Dominoes, Saphire Carwash & Coles Express will want to be your friend.

[BluChris]

IIRC SSangyong are all diesel in Oz, usually old Merc designs built under licence. The looks? Distinctive doesn't come close for most of em