Skoda too good for VW

[Duck's hoop]

Just perusing Spiegel online - as you do - and came across this article.

My link

Translated it's not great but you get the idea.

[veedub210]

Here's Google's translated version:

http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=de&tl=en&u=http://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/0,1518,682628,00.html

[ChrisRs]

Sorry... translate?? Not working

[g_tee]

Sorry... translate?? Not working

Here it is: -

Volkswagen has trouble with his daughter Skoda: Your prize is collapsing, while it makes the VW Group's own competing models.

Es gibt Fehler, die macht man nur einmal. There are mistakes that you make only once. Reinhard Jung, Chef der VW-Tochter Skoda, leistete sich einen solchen auf dem Autosalon in Genf. Reinhard Jung, head of VW subsidiary Skoda, indulged in such at the Auto Salon in Geneva. Mehrere Dutzend Scheinwerfer und Kameras waren am Dienstag auf den Manager gerichtet, als er auf die Bühne kam. Several dozen lights and cameras were turned on Tuesday at the manager when he came on stage. In der ersten Reihe saßen VW-Konzernchef Martin Winterkorn und Aufsichtsratschef Ferdinand Piëch. In the first row sat VW group CEO Martin Winterkorn and supervisory board chairman Ferdinand Piëch. Und Jung sagte: "Ganz besonders begrüße ich den Aufsichtsratsvorsitzenden des VW-Konzerns, Professor Doktor Ferdinand Porsche." And Jung said: "I particularly welcome the chairman of the VW Group, Professor Dr. Ferdinand Porsche."

Jung wird keine Gelegenheit haben, den Fehler zu wiederholen. Young will have no opportunity to repeat the mistake. Der 59-Jährige wird im Herbst in den Ruhestand geschickt. The 59-year-old is sent in the fall in retirement.

Zum Glück war diese Personalie schon vor Wochen durchgesickert. Fortunately, this was leaked Personnel weeks ago. Sonst hätte es sicher geheißen, Piëch habe sich für diesen kleinen Versprecher des Skoda-Chefs bitter gerächt. Otherwise, it would surely have been called, Piëch have avenged a bitter price for this little slip of the Skoda boss. Aber der Miteigentümer des Porsche- und VW-Konzerns lächelte nur milde. But the co-owner of Porsche and VW Group smiled gently.

Tatsächlich muss Jung gehen, weil die tschechische VW-Tochter nicht mehr die zugedachte Aufgabe innerhalb des Konzerns erfüllt und preiswerte Einstiegsmodelle anbietet. Indeed, Jung has to go, because the Czech VW subsidiary no longer meets the task assigned within the group and offering low-cost entry models. Stattdessen machen Skoda-Modelle zunehmend ihren Volkswagen-Schwestern Konkurrenz. Instead, Skoda models are increasingly making their Volkswagen sisters compete.

Schlimmer noch: Sie überholen sie mitunter sogar. Worse, sometimes even surpass them.

[veedub210]

Here's the article in English:

Skoda Spells Trouble for Parent Company Volkswagen

Edited 11 March, 2010 by veedub210

[rob_e]

The forum is cutting the link.. cut and past this bit in after the "http://" in your browser:

translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=de&tl=en&u=http://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/0,1518,682628,00.html

Summary: skoda quality is so good now, combined with "cheaper than vw" pricing strategy means that parent vw is losing sales to skoda, ie skoda is not fulfilling its role as the lower end of the spectrum and is pulling in buyers who would have previously had golf/passat etc.

I think we already knew this

[Octavia1Z]

Very big topic here in Germany at the moment.....seems that even Skodas boss Reinhard Jung will have to take his hat.....I find it a little odd to state that using the wrong name for Piech is to be the reason for that....

Edited 11 March, 2010 by Octavia1Z

[Dodgy]

Here's the article in English:

Skoda Spells Trouble for Parent Company Volkswagen

Interesting!

[cheezemonkhai]

Well guess I better get a superb2 before VW kills it off and makes a cheap, low spec cr*p box to replace it.

Shame as I will never buy a VW (Scirocco is the possible exception to this rule), but the Skoda range as it is now is a good buy.

If I'm going to spend VW money I'll go over to a nearly new BMW or Merc instead.

Edited 11 March, 2010 by cheezemonkhai

[Duck's hoop]

Well guess I better get a superb2 before VW kills it off and makes a cheap, low spec cr*p box to replace it.

That's what I thought too. And the reason I posted. But then surely the success behind Skoda over the last decade is the fact they offer such VFM. Great car/great price. They're not going to mess with that?

Are they?

[Wet Kipper]

this is also being discussed in the Superb II fourm

http://briskoda.net/forums/topic/155082-the-superbs-just-too-good-for-vw/

[furn]

i just hope vw doesnt cut skoda loose, if they are on there own surely they couldnt keep making the same quality cars!

[justinlok]

Having just become a Skoda convert, I find it worrying that I might have to leave the brand in a couple years time.........

Skoda represent excellent value (to get a golf estate similar spec to the Octavia, would have been loads more dosh), good build quality (as good, if not better than my (now departed) MkV Golf), and a car that ticks all the boxes for me.

Why would Volkswagen mess with something that works, and works very well????

I guess we will all just have to wait and see......

[Guest wilkopilko]

i just hope vw doesnt cut skoda loose, if they are on there own surely they couldnt keep making the same quality cars!

I dunno, could be a good thing - they've had time to learn & more importantly know how VW operate. I just hope VW don't sell off Skoda to the Chinese...

[Cauliflower]

VAG knows there's something wrong because the raw statistics tell them so. A 1.4 TSI Octavia SE costs (on the no-VAT deal) a cool £6k less than a VW Golf 1.4 TSE. Even better, a 1.8 TSI SE Octavia on the same deal costs £10k less than the equivalent (160HP) Audi A4! That's a lot of money to justify the extra (some would say perceived / superficial) quality 'feel'. And before you mention VW and Audi discount, I've been there and been humiliated at asking for more than a few £hundred off what are "the most technologically advanced yada, yada, yada..."

There's occasional comments on this forum's topics about how VW and Audi are in a different 'class', meaning that someone who likes an Audi A4 would never drive an Octavia, but I think that's pure badge snobbery and that it doesn't reflect real life. Eg. someone loses their job and an accompanying Golf GTi company car - is it inconceivable that if they get a new job without a company car that they might buy an Octavia VRS???

Also, Skoda has made inroads that VW never made. Many police forces now choose the Octavia as their patrol and motorway vehicle of choice, and where I come from (Northern Ireland), ministerial cars include Superbs.

Yes, VW have got it wrong if they thought that Skoda wouldn't crash their party.

[Dolla]

I dunno, could be a good thing - they've had time to learn & more importantly know how VW operate. I just hope VW don't sell off Skoda to the Chinese...

From what as been said in that article then if you read between the lines so to speak,is Skoda will not be able to reach it's full potential while under the rule of VW...Reading that as kinda made feel like i am a scrooge for buying a VRS...Can't afford a VW buy a Skoda, will keep my VRS maybe for another 2 yrs,if things have gone Tits up for the VRS,i can see myself going back to subaru....

[Fabia00]

Makes you wonder what will happen to SEAT after all they have never really made anything of it and now they have started giving it Audi underpinnings to make it more successful. Always thought that SEAT and Skoda are too close too each other in terms of market and price. I know one is supposed to be sporty and the other practical but there too close. Think the Superb II is brill but obviously a step too far for VW, worried that Skoda may be come more of a Volvo rival than a Kia/ Hyundia competitor? Perhaps the solution is to make the Superb more Octavia sized then make the Octavia smaller to fit between the Fabia and Superb. Limit engine range and options but try too keep the quality at a similar level?