[Nilesh5417]

The holding company should just rename itself to something else and leave the car making to the brands. If the holding company isnt called VW, if the VW car brand fails and Skoda shines, just chop off VW! That way one brand doesnt become the whole identity of the company. Do what Google did - they are now Alphabet and Google is just their search business.

[octane_100]

Skoda and Vee Dub have become more of an overlap, so to speak. IMO they should be rationalising geographies and the product segments between the 2 of them, unless they can bring out a clear differentiation. Agreed, Skoda is little better in overall packaging(at least by seeing their products in India) but that's noticeable only when you dig deep. Both of them just vying for the same pie doesn't make any sense, to me.

[ferrarirules]

According to me, people are getting the article wrong, it is not VW which is complaining that Skoda is eating into their market and taking advantage of similar platforms. It is VW managers and unions complaining of the same as VW is cutting jobs in the German plants for reducing the excess production capacity. This is classic example of employees of one division being unhappy because they are facing job cuts where as another division is not in same situation.

As per the senior management and chief executive, they want to greater differentiation between Skoda and VW target markets and clientele specially for electric cars models so that such concerns don't arise in future.

For VW (parent company), they wouldn't care much about Skoda, Seat or Audi benefiting from a VW MQB platform till the time they are getting them the returns.

[greenhorn]

This has been an ongoing problem for a very long time
We had discussed it here on team bhp too
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/intern...-vs-skoda.html

[rageshgr]

I am a fan of VW engineering, their engines , gearboxes, build quality etc. But this cannibalistic behaviour is disturbing. They will not try to improve but will try to pull down Skoda which is doing better eh?

When you offer watered down products like Jetta/Audi 1.4 TSI while Skoda is offering 1.8 TSI, what else do you expect. Skoda is more VFM. Dealership/service hassles notwithstanding.

[sgiitk]

In India it was Skoda who were the flag bearers for the VW group. So in a way they developed the market and did the groundwork. VW came in as the 'premium label' for whatever that means. I had vowed to stay away from the VW family after the Pollution Control scam. Now it turns out that almost all are guilty. So maybe I should relook.

[volkman10]

Volkswagen Group again wants to make the Skoda cheaper. It would focus on Eastern markets, while SEAT to be move Upmarket.



This could also be the move, making Skoda in charge of Indian market too.

Volkswagen Group plans to increase differentiation among its VW, Skoda and Seat brands -- pushing Seat upmarket while focusing Skoda more on challenging lower-priced rivals such as Hyundai, Kia and Dacia.

The German concern is again looking for ways to differentiate the Škoda, Seat and Volkswagen brands, which have been too close in recent years.

In short, the Group wants to clearly identify all brands so that they would have product differentiation and compete minimally. This is not much today, after all, Seat, Skoda and Volkswagen struggle more or less for the same clientele.

The more premium SEAT:

Seat could represent even more emotional cars, as exemplified by its Cupra models. Skoda could serve eastern Europe markets more intensively, as well as customers seeking functionality even more intensively," Jost said.

The result could mean a rise in pricing for Seat models compared with the VW brand. It would also mean that Seat could become a rival to Fiat Chrysler Automobiles' Alfa Romeo brand

The 'Budget' brand - SKODA

Skoda would drop upscale options such as Alcantara soft, suede-like roof linings.

The brand would focus more on previously neglected markets, especially in eastern Europe where Hyundai, Kia and Dacia have pushed down VW Group's market share.

Volkswagen:

VW Group would not want VW’s portfolio to interfere with other brands’ lineup.

The core VW marque would see changes too, especially to make sure its lineup does not clash with other brands.

Link

[raystriker]

Hopefully that translates to a cheaper next gen Octavia vRS for India.

Probably a good decision by VAG. Most people might find VW's offerings as too mundane in style. Skoda definitely has a more muscular/aggressive design philosophy and image. I don't really see Seat competing with Alfa Romeo tho. The Giulia, Stelvio and 4C are in a completely different segment compared to Seat's current offerings.

[vb-saan]

Another ‘interesting’ idea from VAG! Whatever is the case, I doubt if this will have any impact on their India operations. It will be business-as-usual in India with:

• Skoda with new/relevant models and respectable sales in the premium segment.
• VW as the outdated parent.
• Audi as the ailing luxury brand.

And SEAT as a brand really doesn’t have the pull or charm to compete with the likes of, say an Alfa Romeo.

[Shreyas Agarwal]

This particular move feels like it is just to silence those managers and nothing else. I barely think many changes would be made maybe except territory division because when Skoda is making progress why would you want to curb it? Look at the new T-Cross and Kamiq. The Kamiq has a soft touch dashboard whereas the T-Cross is all hard plastics, and the Skoda comes at a cheaper price.

Finally, with expensive cars like Superb and Kodaiaq in the brand's umbrella, they cannot afford to remove alacantra and nappa options.

[pganapathy]

Was watching a youtube video the other day on the death of British Leyland. So many similarities in this story to that. Multiple brands under one roof and the employees not working together as a team, but seeing their colleagues as enemies stealing their jobs.

Either management needs to make their employees understand that it is all one company, or they need to shut down inefficient plants. Otherwise, they will see problems soon.

[Iyencar]

What rubbish. I say allow each brand to give the best they have to offer and let the customer choose where they want to spend their money. In this age of declining sales and their poor reputation they should be thankful for whatever money is eventually ending up in their bank accounts regardless of which brand it is getting in through.

[VaidhiR]

Just to be clear. W.R.T. pricing,

in passenger car segment,
Skoda > VW > Seat > Audi > Bentley

in performance car segment,
Porsche > Lamborghini