Skoda Confirms Plans for Larger CUV

VIENNA – Skoda Auto says it will produce a second cross/utility vehicle alongside its compact Yeti.

Chairman Winfried Vahland confirms plans for the larger model at the auto maker’s annual news conference at Skoda’s headquarters in Mlada Boleslav, Czech Republic.

“We see volumes of 150,000 to 200,000 (vehicles per year),” Vahland is quoted as saying.

The new model will be an important building block for Skoda’s growth strategy, which calls for sales of at least 1.5 million vehicles annually by 2018, he says.

Studies show a larger CUV fits better into Skoda’s program than a more van-like multipurpose vehicle, Vahland adds.

Details of the production site and timing of the new model have not been disclosed.

However, Vahland does say the vehicle will be manufactured in Czech Republic, as well as produced or assembled abroad, with Russia, India and China the main candidates.

The new model is likely to reach dealerships in 2016.

Production of the Yeti CUV began in 2009. Originally, Volkswagen’s Czech arm expected to sell 50,000 units annually. But 90,882 Yetis were built last year, including kits exported to foreign assembly plants, up 17.6 % from 2011.

Yeti complete-knocked-down assembly was launched at the GAZ factory in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia, in December. A version of the model modified for the Chinese market is set to enter production this year at Shanghai Volkswagen, bringing annual output of the Yeti to 150,000 units per year.

Skoda’s total worldwide deliveries rose 6.8% to 939,200 vehicles in 2012, marking the brand’s eighth straight sales record.

In addition to the vehicles produced in Czech Republic, Skodas are manufactured or assembled in Slovakia, Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, India and China.

China again was the brand’s largest market last year, with some 235,700 cars sold, up 7.1% from 2011.

Vahland expects first-half 2013 sales to trail like-2012’s pace, due to the ramp-up of new models and overall downturn in the European market. But the auto maker still is aiming to surpass 2012’s volume for entire-2013.

Skoda is targeting global sales of 1 million vehicles in 2014.