Skoda scuppers its critics

By ALASTAIR SLOANE

European Motor Distributors is expected to gradually introduce its new lineup of Skoda vehicles to the New Zealand market next year. The company - agents for Volkswagen, Audi and Porsche - is showing off the introductory Fabia and Octavia models at Big Boys' Toys this weekend.

But it will unveil other variants, including turbocharged performance models, a four-wheel-drive station wagon and the luxury Superb sedan, once it broadens its dealer base.

The Skoda range will be aimed at the mass market rivals from Toyota, Ford and Holden along with European niche models.

Prices will start in the early $20,000 for the hatchback Fabia to between $30,000 and $50,000 for the Octavia range and $60,000 for the Superb, the car of the year in Scotland.

The line-up of engines will include 1.4-, 1.8- and 2-litre, four-cylinder units and a V6.

Volkswagen general manager Dean Sheed will also head the Skoda arm.

"European Motor Distributors has been investigating Skoda for some time," he said. "Being part of the Volkswagen group, it is a natural brand for us to consider.

"There are many synergies, together with the product meeting new consumer needs. We will start slowly and build solidly - it will take 12 months to complete a national distribution network."

Sheed concedes that Skoda had a bad press when it was last here in numbers in the 60s, 70s and early 80s.

"Lots of baggage came with the brand then but we see our positioning and communications style as similar to that adopted in Britain, where Skoda has been a major success.

"We will acknowledge the old image, then let people make up their own minds. A drive in a new Skoda will wash away preconceived ideas."

The Fabia and Octavia range will come well equipped, with air-conditioning and anti-lock brakes as standard. Electronic aids such as traction and skid control will also be available.

The cars will come direct from the Skoda factory in the Czech Republic capital, Prague.

The small Fabia is built on the VW Polo platform. It has been What Car? magazine's "Supermini of the Year" in Britain for the past three years.

The Octavia is bigger than the Golf but smaller than the Passat. It sits on a stretched version of the Golf/Audi A3 platform.

The four-wheel-drive Octavia wagon will also be aimed at the fleet and recreational market.

Skoda is part of VW's Contemporary division, along with VW passenger cars, Bentley and Bugatti. The Sport division comprises Lamborghini, Audi and Seat.

Skoda produced around 460,000 vehicles last year and is showing strong growth throughout Europe and Britain. Sales so far this year are up 16 per cent over last year's numbers.

Skoda first entered the New Zealand market more than 40 years ago with a front-engined car. Rear-engined models followed before the company went back to front engines again. It pulled out of New Zealand in the early 1990s.

The history of the Skoda car includes the role that mechanic Vaclav Laurin and bookseller Vaclav Klement played when they formed a company to build Slavia bicycles just before Christmas 1895.

In 1899, Laurin and Klement moved into motorcycles and in 1905 they built their first car, the Voiturette A.

Between 1911 and 1914 they produced 600 models of the Voiturette A. It became a Czech classic.

World War I and the subsequent lean years after it disrupted production and in 1925 Laurin and Klement merged with industrial heavyweight Skoda. In the early 1930s the company built the Skoda 420, a car considered ahead of its time.

Skoda became part of the German World War II effort before it was nationalised in 1946. It started building the 420 again and introduced a new model, the Tudor.

During the 1950s and 60s it produced the Spartak and Estelle and entered its first championship rally in 1969.

The company began to lose its competitive position through the 70s and 80s as mainstream makers took advantage of new technologies. But it clawed back some of the ground it had lost with the Favorit in 1988.

In 1989, with the Soviet grip loosening and a free-market environment approaching, Skoda looked for a foreign partner.

In December 1990 the Czech government chose the Volkswagen group and in April 1991, SkodaAuto began trading as the fourth branch of the VW, Audi and Seat group.