Skoda plans to release a new model every six months for the next three years and double its 2011 sales to 1.5 million units by 2018.
The new Skoda Rapid, sister car to the Seat Toledo, is just shorter than the current Octavia, which means that next year’s Mk3 Octavia is likely to be significantly bigger. It will be based on the Volkswagen Group’s latest MQB platform, which will give the flexibility to develop further niche models.
A Rapid coupé could also arrive in 2013, taking strong cues from the VisionD concept. A large, seven or eight-seat SUV is also rumoured to be in development to trade on the Yeti compact crossover’s success. It could be loosely based on the VW Touareg.
The Yeti is due for a facelift in 18-24 months, to be followed by a Fabia facelift and new version of the five-seat Roomster.
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A Fabia Facelift?
Surely the Fabia will need more than a facelift, especially if it is to FOLLOW the Yeti facelift? Got to be an all-new model, surely? The current Fabia arrived in 2007 and was facelifted in 2010 - another facelift in, what, 2014 - that would make the car 7 years old. Which I suppose is similar to the first Fabia's lifecycle, but that car only had two revamps.
As for the story as a whole - I'm sure Autocar has reported on this before - Skoda announced their model assault last year! Looking forward to the next Octavia - let's just hope it doesn't go too far towards the Superb, which in my honest opinion are just too big for the class. Perhaps Passat size would be just about right for an Octavia - it's not far off that anyway, really.
Rapid Coupe sounds good. Not sure about an eight-seat SUV though - I can see Skoda becoming an also-ran VW if VAG aren't careful - the Yeti was Skoda's most characterful car to date, and that's why it has sold. If it had been a 'blend-in' car, I don't think people would've sat up and taken notice. So I hope Skoda's 4x4 isn't too Toureg-ish.
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The new Rapid Coupe is very nice! I used to like this car.
Coupe
The new Rapid Coupe is unlikely to be the "poor mans Porsche" that the original was, even if it is now part of the same group.
However if it is an A5 style 2 door with a decent range of economical engines and without the former's greasy-pole badge, it could be just the ticket. Mainstream coupes have been lacking of late.
Right, sirwiggum
Agreed. Especially if they fit a hatch instead of a mere boot in order to add practicality to make it even more tempting.
One of the great things about the old school affordable coupes was the way that the "sacrifice" in chosing the coupe variant was minimised by having the practicality of a hatch. I'm thinking now of the Capri, Celica, Supra, Calibra, Corrado, and in the modern era the Audi TT.