(Motorsport-Total.com/Motor1) – Skoda CEO Klaus Zellmer is putting the current diversity of the portfolio to the test to make the brand fit for the electric age. Through targeted consolidation, synergies are to be utilized and costs reduced, while new vehicle concepts close the gap between segments. This strategic realignment could mean the end of the strict separation of the previous core models.
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The Octavia has been a fixed part of Skoda’s lineup for 30 years, and the larger Superb has been on the market since 2001. Both models are currently offered in their fourth generation.
Skoda already gave a possible glimpse into the future with the Vision O study. The concept is considered a precursor to an electric successor for the Octavia, which is expected to launch on VW Group’s new SSP platform before the end of the decade. The same architecture is also expected to be used by the next VW Golf, among others.
Interestingly: The Vision O’s dimensions lie between the current Octavia and the Superb.
One model for two segments?
The Volkswagen Group plans to significantly reduce its model variety by 2035. According to plans, the number of models offered across all brands is to decrease by around 50 percent. The main reasons behind this are cost reductions, higher volumes for the remaining model series, and thus better economies of scale.
At the same time, Skoda is one of the most profitable brands in the group. In the first half of this year, the Czech brand achieved record values in sales and profit, reaching a margin of around 8.5 percent.
Photo gallery: Skoda Superb facing discontinuation?
Skoda CEO Klaus Zellmer told a group of media representatives that the brand currently has its largest model range ever. The main reason for this is the current transition phase between combustion engines and electric cars.
“The endgame is electric, there is no doubt about that,” Zellmer said according to Autocar. At the same time, it remains to be seen whether the transition will actually happen naturally by 2035. A stronger focus on electric cars would also reduce complexity in the model range, according to Zellmer.
Superb and Octavia could be merged
When asked whether Skoda’s success could save the brand from cutting models from the lineup, Zellmer replied: “That is not given.”
As a possible approach, he named the brand’s sedan and estate models. “We are very proud of the Superb and we love the Octavia,” Zellmer was quoted by Autocar. At the same time, both models are currently very well positioned in the market. The Octavia has led its segment since 2016.
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The problem, according to Zellmer, lies in the long-term market development: “Sedans and estates are not on the rise.”
The new SSP platform also offers enough room to realize vehicles up to the size of the Superb. Therefore, Skoda is currently examining whether two separate models are really necessary or whether both segments and target groups can be covered with a single vehicle.
Combustion engines could stay longer
However, it has not yet been decided how the successor to the Octavia or Superb will look technically. Although the Vision O was presented as an electric concept, Skoda is also considering a range extender drive, according to Autocar.
The importance of the Octavia for the brand is enormous. Over 30 years, more than seven million units have been sold. Since its debut in 2001, more than 1.6 million Superbs have been delivered to customers.
VW Group thinks across brands
In the reorganization of the model lineup, cooperation within the Volkswagen Group also plays a bigger role. Zellmer explained that in the future, the entire brand portfolio will be considered more strongly, rather than each company on its own.
The goal is to position the entire group as broadly as possible without the individual brands competing against each other. Decisions that might seem surprising from the perspective of a single brand would make sense in the context of the entire group.
Zellmer is relaxed about the effects of the group-wide savings program on Skoda. Efficiency has long been an important part of Skoda’s business model. The brand already operates with a very lean structure.
Whether this actually means the end for the Superb is not yet finally decided. But it is clear: Skoda is apparently seriously examining whether a future model can take on the roles of both Octavia and Superb together.
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Source: Autocar
