A New Chapter - Skoda Singapore

[Sdf4786k]

On 1/22/2021 at 8:12 PM, Hamburger said:

 they should just ditch the bulky gear selector. 

The stubby fly by wire gear selector in the new golf n new octavia has been known to be wonky.. not sure if it’s pre production unit.. so bulky connected gear lever still safer

[Tohto]

1 hour ago, Sdf4786k said:

The stubby fly by wire gear selector in the new golf n new octavia has been known to be wonky.. not sure if it’s pre production unit.. so bulky connected gear lever still safer

But that look very cool.

[Sdf4786k]

1 minute ago, Tohto said:

But that look very cool.

Most design are .. functional cool like the infinity drive by wire steering by marketing were equally hype up but the reality is quite vague steering feel.

for fighter plane yes .. for cars not so great.. 

[Dannnn]

On 1/22/2021 at 7:55 PM, AriesGoat said:

Yes it is, no virtual cockpit and without panoramic sunroof. 
Comes with adaptive cruise control, wireless Apple CarPlay and wireless charging. 

will the kodiaq come in vRS version?

[AriesGoat]

44 minutes ago, Dannnn said:

will the kodiaq come in vRS version?

No news on that in any time soon. 

[badlammy]

49 minutes ago, Dannnn said:

will the kodiaq come in vRS version?

Diesel leh, you want?

[Tohto]

50 minutes ago, Dannnn said:

will the kodiaq come in vRS version?

Don't expect too much. 

We are always getting the lowest spec and engine here.

The Superb in Taiwan are having the 2.0L with 280bhp Combi model which look so good.

Similarly Octavia also come with Combi model there with high spec.

Even Malaysia is getting better spec for their car there nowadays. 

AD here just bringing in the basic model and lazy to get more higher spec version.

Edited January 24, 2021 by Tohto

[ferrytales]

2 hours ago, Tohto said:

Don't expect too much. 

We are always getting the lowest spec and engine here.

The Superb in Taiwan are having the 2.0L with 280bhp Combi model which look so good.

Similarly Octavia also come with Combi model there with high spec.

Even Malaysia is getting better spec for their car there nowadays. 

AD here just bringing in the basic model and lazy to get more higher spec version.

dont think its about being lazy or what but more of the $$.

high spec probably means more $$ and dont forget here in SG, if its too exp then people will rather buy entry level mercs. 

[Thaiyotakamli]

3 hours ago, Tohto said:

Don't expect too much. 

We are always getting the lowest spec and engine here.

The Superb in Taiwan are having the 2.0L with 280bhp Combi model which look so good.

Similarly Octavia also come with Combi model there with high spec.

Even Malaysia is getting better spec for their car there nowadays. 

AD here just bringing in the basic model and lazy to get more higher spec version.

Only way to get better spec is to buy from pi

[Thaiyotakamli]

On 1/22/2021 at 8:12 PM, Hamburger said:

 they should just ditch the bulky gear selector. 

Sometimes they don’t want. Wait for all new model then ditch. So can see big diff. If facelift change so much then all new model will have hard time to differentiate haha

[Carbon82]

On 1/22/2021 at 6:59 PM, Ceecookie said:

VW group is repositioning seat and skoda to fight against hyundai and mazda seperately. Based on these news article, they are trying to make seat more premium than skoda. Not sure how this translate to the local ADs.

https://www.dsf.my/2019/10/vw-to-reposition-seat-and-skoda-to-rival-mazda-and-hyundai/

https://www.google.com.sg/amp/s/www.motor1.com/news/373717/volkswagen-seat-upmarket-skoda-downmarket/amp/

That is old news liao.

Skoda has big growth potential but will not go downmarket, top VW Group exec says

Skoda has the “biggest growth potential” among Volkswagen Group’s volume brands because of its appeal to more traditionally minded budget buyers, VW Group’s sales chief, Christian Dahlheim, said.

The brand’s customers have a social status classed as middle to lower, and seek functionality from their car above other needs, Dahlheim said.

“Skoda is ideally positioned to tackle segments where people are not able to afford higher priced cars,” Dahlheim said during an online presentation to analysts focusing on the positioning of VW Group brands. “On the volume side in percentage terms, Skoda has the biggest growth potential.”

Skoda will not be repositioned to compete with Renault’s low cost brand Dacia, Dahlheim said. “We don’t like that comparison because we do not want to reduce Skoda to tapping into that competitor,” he said. “Skoda has fabulous competitors with the French brands and, of course, Ford.”

Skoda’s “Simply Clever” marketing slogan demonstrates the brand’s customer group, Dahlheim said. Skoda “should take customers from other brands, not our own,” he said.

The VW brand will remain a volume brand, targeting what Dahlheim called the “Top Volume” sector. Most VW customers buy their cars through leasing or financing and need high residual values, he said.

Skoda can win more customers in the “traditional mainstream” buyer group without going downmarket, Dahlheim said.

VW Group’s other volume brand, Seat and its Cupra performance arm, brings the young customers to the group, he said.

 

On 1/23/2021 at 2:37 PM, ferrytales said:

that is good news if skoda price drops to match up with hyundai, will gladly change my hyundai to a skoda if that happens!

If you have noticed, the price of Skoda has been inching up slowly, not just here but worldwide, as VW is forcing Skoda to pay higher royalties in order to have access to the group’s goodies. A relevant example would have to be the MQB platform, which has already underpinned the aforementioned Octavia and Superb, as well as the Karoq and Kodiaq pair of SUVs.

In addition, some of Skoda’s production in Czech could be moved to factories in Germany where there is capacity for a higher output as a result of declining Passat and Golf production. Such a decision would resulted in an increase in production cost and thus its selling price. 

These measures are expected to be taken in order to eliminate what the reports describes as being Skoda’s “unfair advantages” and allow the VW core brand to consolidate its position as the leader.

 

4 hours ago, Dannnn said:

will the kodiaq come in vRS version?

Officially NO, but I have seen a fair bit of badge engineered vRS Kodiaq on our road.

 

3 hours ago, Tohto said:

Don't expect too much. 

We are always getting the lowest spec and engine here.

The Superb in Taiwan are having the 2.0L with 280bhp Combi model which look so good.

Similarly Octavia also come with Combi model there with high spec.

Even Malaysia is getting better spec for their car there nowadays. 

AD here just bringing in the basic model and lazy to get more higher spec version.

Our vehicle tax structure limits the model we can have here. Afterall Skoda is in a price sensitive segment, and bringing in higher spec variant with a few K higher OMV would have translated to $20K or more diff in selling price after tax, so we can only LLST.

Take me as example, I would want a Superb Combi Scout (4x4, 272ps, 350Nm, 7 speed wet clutch DSG), but if the price is close to $200K, I might consider the BMW X3 Sdrive20i too (tested and quite like it although the spec don't look good on paper).

[Sdf4786k]

39 minutes ago, Carbon82 said:

That is old news liao.

Skoda has big growth potential but will not go downmarket, top VW Group exec says

Skoda has the “biggest growth potential” among Volkswagen Group’s volume brands because of its appeal to more traditionally minded budget buyers, VW Group’s sales chief, Christian Dahlheim, said.

The brand’s customers have a social status classed as middle to lower, and seek functionality from their car above other needs, Dahlheim said.

“Skoda is ideally positioned to tackle segments where people are not able to afford higher priced cars,” Dahlheim said during an online presentation to analysts focusing on the positioning of VW Group brands. “On the volume side in percentage terms, Skoda has the biggest growth potential.”

Skoda will not be repositioned to compete with Renault’s low cost brand Dacia, Dahlheim said. “We don’t like that comparison because we do not want to reduce Skoda to tapping into that competitor,” he said. “Skoda has fabulous competitors with the French brands and, of course, Ford.”

Skoda’s “Simply Clever” marketing slogan demonstrates the brand’s customer group, Dahlheim said. Skoda “should take customers from other brands, not our own,” he said.

The VW brand will remain a volume brand, targeting what Dahlheim called the “Top Volume” sector. Most VW customers buy their cars through leasing or financing and need high residual values, he said.

Skoda can win more customers in the “traditional mainstream” buyer group without going downmarket, Dahlheim said.

VW Group’s other volume brand, Seat and its Cupra performance arm, brings the young customers to the group, he said.

 

If you have noticed, the price of Skoda has been inching up slowly, not just here but worldwide, as VW is forcing Skoda to pay higher royalties in order to have access to the group’s goodies. A relevant example would have to be the MQB platform, which has already underpinned the aforementioned Octavia and Superb, as well as the Karoq and Kodiaq pair of SUVs.

In addition, some of Skoda’s production in Czech could be moved to factories in Germany where there is capacity for a higher output as a result of declining Passat and Golf production. Such a decision would resulted in an increase in production cost and thus its selling price. 

These measures are expected to be taken in order to eliminate what the reports describes as being Skoda’s “unfair advantages” and allow the VW core brand to consolidate its position as the leader.

 

Officially NO, but I have seen a fair bit of badge engineered vRS Kodiaq on our road.

 

Our vehicle tax structure limits the model we can have here. Afterall Skoda is in a price sensitive segment, and bringing in higher spec variant with a few K higher OMV would have translated to $20K or more diff in selling price after tax, so we can only LLST.

Take me as example, I would want a Superb Combi Scout (4x4, 272ps, 350Nm, 7 speed wet clutch DSG), but if the price is close to $200K, I might consider the BMW X3 Sdrive20i too (tested and quite like it although the spec don't look good on paper).

The combi is a sound n practical choice. Just that it has limited appeal.

take the Passat variant for example. Vcs uses it as a weapon of choice for their service recovery vehicles. Lugging some spares as well in case it’s a check valve issue or pcv failure.

but mostly for battery replacement for those under warranty.

 

[Beanoyip]

16 hours ago, ferrytales said:

dont think its about being lazy or what but more of the $$.

high spec probably means more $$ and dont forget here in SG, if its too exp then people will rather buy entry level mercs. 

LET THE CONSUMERS decide what they want to buy! Why should the AD bring in only what they think works for them?

[Contipro]

31 minutes ago, Beanoyip said:

LET THE CONSUMERS decide what they want to buy! Why should the AD bring in only what they think works for them?

but here most consumer just accept as is... when we try to fight for it, kenna bash back... what can we do... ?

[Beanoyip]

4 minutes ago, Contipro said:

but here most consumer just accept as is... when we try to fight for it, kenna bash back... what can we do... ?

No choice, SG is small market, got what cars you just take.

I think the alternative route is self import the vehicle you like.. one of the bros here did it before..

[Lotr]

The Coe price uncertainty and LTA homologation process are also barriers for ADs to let consumers pick their most preferred model/trim level/options.

Consumers also may do not want to wait that long for their new cars. From some of the overseas YouTube videos that I have seen, the wait can be around half a year or more.

 

 

[Fcw75]

Want to blame, blame it on LTA taxes.

Just have to suck it up here as with many things.

[Daniu82]

Like 1 of the bros had said, if Skoda don’t keep their cars VFM here, I think their sales will drop here, cos they are just a small conti player here compared to the Merc, Audi and BMW.