[Thad E Ginathom]

Skoda's world success in recent years has been achieved through outdoing its family senior, VW, in giving more for less money. More luxury for more money is there with Audi: if Skoda tries the more-expensive approach, it will deserve to fail. I am very sceptical about the "premium offering! thing.

The silhouette of the car resembles to that of Polo and in that sense, I think I'll still pick the Polo over this one.

There is an unmistakable Skoda flavour in the the opening-post pics. Nothing wrong with that as such, but it seems a little dated.

[nug1]

This is a great looking car and being a Skoda, would surely be well engineered. But only a good product is not enough. We have a recent example in Bolt where a great product couldn't get the initial market response to its expectations due to company's haunted customer service history. Only if Skoda could work on their A** and make sure that customer are well taken care of post purchase!!!

Good luck Skoda.

[Epic]

Well if the next gen Skoda Fabia will launch in India this year, I am hoping that they launch the next gen Skoda Rapid as well. What do you guys think?

[alpha1]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

Skoda's world success in recent years has been achieved through outdoing its family senior, VW, in giving more for less money. More luxury for more money is there with Audi: if Skoda tries the more-expensive approach, it will deserve to fail. I am very sceptical about the "premium offering! thing.



There is an unmistakable Skoda flavour in the the opening-post pics. Nothing wrong with that as such, but it seems a little dated.

Absolutely, I was thinking in same terms.

Last year, Skoda reworked its strategy for India and has repositioned itself from being a mass market player to a value-luxury brand.

Perhaps this may work in higher priced segments, but for Skoda to rake in money from Fabia, simply pricing higher will not work.
(As it didn't earlier)
I hope their so called premium-ness is not limited only to paint work and alloys

[linuxmanju]

Awesome move by Skoda India. I always felt that the old Fabia was a very good all rounded package.

It had ample space, built well, ride was superb, had a top notch dynamics and handled as good ( or arguably better than ) as any car out there in the segment. The only fly in the ointment was a 3 pot engine. I am sure with the 1.5 TDI this would be a game changer.

[Thad E Ginathom]

It must be both a good all-round package and cheaper than the Polo.

If not, then, Skoda should simply not bother., because it won't be worth it.

[rajshenoy]

Good to see many manufacturers now having a good re-look at their market strategy for India.
Full credit should go to Hyundai for bringing the wonderful Elite i20

From low cost Made for India small cars, the auto makers seem to be focusing on the premium hatchback segment which is showing good potential.

I am sure same will extend to other segments(I can see Toyota working on their Avanza)

Since the Polo already has good Turbo options, should be relatively easy for Skoda to offer Fabia as a premium offering

[manas_270]

Wow!! 2015 seems to be the year for premium hatches.

Good news for consumers since we get to have options at different price points to cater to various segment consumers. More competition will lead to hopefully stringent QC & After sales to stay abreast in the market.

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

if Skoda tries the more-expensive approach, it will deserve to fail. I am very sceptical about the "premium offering! thing.

Maybe for their higher end models, they can have the "premium offering" but for their only hatchback, the tactic may not work.

Originally Posted by rajshenoy

Full credit should go to Hyundai for bringing the wonderful Elite i20

True that. Would give the first gen i20 credit too since it showed the way for other manufacturers that Indian consumers were willing to pay for premium hatches.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Anyone else feels that the new Fabia feels rather boxy from this angle? The same lines that make the Octavia and the Superb classy sedans to look at, seems out of place on this hatch. The C pillar for example. Even the triangulated facets surrounding the rear number plate looks so out of place in this hatchback design.

[DevendraG]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Anyone else feels that the new Fabia feels rather boxy from this angle? The same lines that make the Octavia and the Superb classy sedans to look at, seems out of place on this hatch. The C pillar for example. Even the triangulated facets surrounding the rear number plate looks so out of place in this hatchback design.

I agree. Ever since I saw the images of the new Fabia, it's shape does stand out distinctly.

Skoda has had great products in it's menu. Enthusiasts do give Skoda's a definite look in the used-car market too. But Skoda A.S.S has been almost glorious (for wrong reasons). Our forum's are filled with Owner complaints/law suits. And this in my opinion will be the biggest challenge.

Coming to it's positioning, I believe, VW might bring in the Polo GTI (to or not to replace Polo GT TSI) at a higher price point & position the new Fabia slightly above Polo GT TSI to justify its Luxury brand image. Won't hurt coz at the end customer joins VAG family. Just somehow, Polo GT TSI fading away does not seem happening anytime soon. No source on this info, these are just my 2 cents.

Skoda Fabia [~9-10L]
VW Polo GT TSI [~10L]
VW Polo GTI [~15L]

[Thad E Ginathom]

VW might bring in the Polo GTI (to or not to replace Polo GT TSI) at a higher price point & position the new Fabia slightly above Polo GT TSI to justify its Luxury brand image.

What "luxury brand image?"

Skoda was able to swing this one for a while when it was the sole representative of the VAG group in india. Now it cannot. It should remember that Skodas are for people who can't afford VWs are for people who can't afford Audi...

That is the pecking order. Skoda can (or should) never survive as a higher-price member of the group, because it just isn't. It can and has, elsewhere, outdo VW by offering more for the same cash, but Skoda as VAG premium car is just starting another generation of Skoda jokes.

[nareshov]

Looks great! A breath a fresh air in a "fluidic design"-infested market. May Skoda offer TSI/TDIs with the automatic gearboxes.

[arnabchak]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

What "luxury brand image?"

Skoda was able to swing this one for a while when it was the sole representative of the VAG group in india. Now it cannot. It should remember that Skodas are for people who can't afford VWs are for people who can't afford Audi...

That is the pecking order. Skoda can (or should) never survive as a higher-price member of the group, because it just isn't. It can and has, elsewhere, outdo VW by offering more for the same cash, but Skoda as VAG premium car is just starting another generation of Skoda jokes.

+1 to your views Sir!!

When Skoda launched the Octavia over a decade and a half back, there was no VW in India.
Skoda was perceived as a luxury brand.
The perception has dwindled over time and Skoda(complete with all the ASC horror stories) has surely lost the edge.

Sales nos. clearly show them as fringe players.
Fabia never was a mature hatch with the noisy 3 pot engine in its first foray.
The facelift/relaunch is much better and Skoda should now look at consolidating its position, increase market share and not blow away this by ridiculously pricing the Fabia.
The space Fabia will play belongs to the established Swifts and the Elites, so its better they tread and tread very carefully.

And Honestly, there is no luxury image/brand at stake. Its just survival that is!!

[prakhar1998]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

What "luxury brand image?"

It should remember that Skodas are for people who can't afford VWs are for people who can't afford Audi...

I would say that is a very ignorant comment. Skoda has time and again proven that its cars on the same platform can be and are better than VW.


I hate when this brand image bias comes into play in the car world. It is actually disappointing. This is the reason excellent brands like Hyundai, Skoda and Seat are unable to gather the market share they deserve worldwide. Luckily in India, this image of Skoda as a cheaper brand is not prevalent. The Superb in India, unlike in places like UK, outsells the Passat by a large margin. Even the Laura sold better than the Jetta.

If we consider globally, brands like Hyundai, Skoda and Seat are outsold by more "premium" brands because they have better reputation. Honda, Toyota outsell Hyundai because it is Korean and has the image of being cheap.


Skodas are not for people who can't afford VWs. Its for people who chose something different. Perhaps something better and more value.
People who buy Superbs don't buy it because they don't have the money to spend on Passat. Its because they find the car better and more value.

[WindRide]

Skoda will do well to launch the new Fabia with 1.2TSI (top-end) and manual transmission for around 7.5L ex-showroom. And do something about their dealer network.