Mladá Boleslav - Škoda, a Czech car manufacturer owned by the Volkswagen group, will introduce a new car every six months in the following three years, the company's CEO Winfried Vahland has repeatedly said.
This is a part of Volkswagen's general strategy to use Škoda to counter the competition posed by South Korea's Kia and Hyundai car makers, as well as by US Chevrolet's models manufactured in Korea.
Before the end of 2011, Škoda will introduce a small car based on the Volkswagen Up model. Nobody has seen the new model yet, but it is supposed to be introduced to the market after two months.
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In spring 2012, the production of a new model of Octavia based on the Mission L Concept will start in Mladá Boleslav. The Mission L Concept was introduced a few days ago in Frankfurt. The new Octavia will be introduced towards the end of the same year.
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What will come next? Surely, Škoda will need a bigger SUV than its current Yeti. In China, the Czech carmaker is able to fill this gap with a longer version of Yeti. However, it will need a brand new model for European and probably also Russian customers.
In addition, Škoda will have to be able to offer a car for at least seven passengers - it appears that almost all Škoda's competitors produce such car.
And even Škoda's head designer Kabaň has admitted that if Škoda wants to promote itself as a family-oriented brand, it has to be able to offer a car that can serve to families with more than three children.
In that case, Škoda would probably opt for the platform used for the "twin" minivans - Seat Alhambra and Volkswagen Sharan. And it would be only logical for Škoda to have its minivan produced in Portugal, as the two mentioned models.
Škoda could also introduce a smaller, practical car. So far, owners of small shops and contractors who need a car to carry their goods and instruments have tended to be leaving Škoda's showrooms disappointed. "It would be a logical step," said Vladimír Rybecký from a Czech server Autoweek. "According to our sources, the car is already developed and probably will be manufactured in Hannover, Germany."
In addition, Škoda will have to introduce a new generation of its Roomster and a Supertb facelift (probably in 2013), and a new Fabia one year later. After that, Škoda will modernize the design of its Yeti SUV.
Photos of a new Škoda model were leaked recently in a discussion forum of Autorevue, a Czech webpage. There is no absolute agreement about which model it is. It can be a new Octavia, or a Combi version of a cheaper car.
