With ambitions to double sales in China by 2020, a small, budget SUV will be an important addition.
21 Mar 2018 | 3866 Views | By Autocar UK
Skoda will reveal a new SUV, solely for China, at the Beijing motor show next month, before unveiling a second new SUV, the Kodiaq GT coupé, later this year.
The two models will make a four-strong SUV line-up for the Czech car maker in China, adding to the ...
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Skoda will reveal a new SUV, solely for China, at the Beijing motor show next month, before unveiling a second new SUV, the Kodiaq GT coupé, later this year.
The two models will make a four-strong SUV line-up for the Czech car maker in China, adding to the existing Kodiaq and Karoq, as Skoda strives to double its sales to 600,000 in that country by 2020. Skoda boss Bernhard Maier said the two new models showed it was “very serious about doubling business in China”.
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Maier reiterated that he wants to bring the Kodiaq GT to Europe in future, but production capacity means it is not yet possible. “I would love to [introduce it in Europe],” he said.
The new small SUV, codenamed Model Q but rumoured to be called the Kamiq, will sit below the Karoq and is described as a crossover.
Maier said the introduction of the Kamiq was in reaction to China’s monumental SUV growth. “I think we’ve had the most dynamic development of SUV growth in China – several hundred percent over two years," he added. "Therefore, we’re reinforcing our SUV campaign there.”
The Kamiq will be built on the localised PQ platform, on which the Chinese Rapid is also built.
Sales and marketing boss Alain Favey said the car would be priced below the Karoq, allowing it to compete with the many Chinese SUV rivals on the market.
“Pricing it below Karoq means we can get it to a price range for China that we would not have been able to reach in Europe,” he said.
The Kamiq will not be offered with an electrified powertrain, confirmed Maier, no doubt also to keep pricing low for the budget end of the Chinese market.
Last year, Skoda sold 325,000 cars in China, achieving a huge lead over its second-biggest market, Germany, which sold 173,300 units in the same period.
By 2020, Maier wants to grow Chinese sales to 600,000 units per year, part of Skoda’s bigger plan to sell two million cars globally by 2025.