Street Smart for Skoda

Young driver training programme will involve Czech brand’s cars.

ONCE was Holden, now another brand with strong ‘everyman’ credential has stepped in to keep the faith.

That’s the story with Street Smart, with announcement today that the hands-on driver training programme that is helping young Kiwi drivers to stay safe on New Zealand roads, with ardent support from former V8 Supercars driver, four times Bathurst winner and road safety advocate Greg Murphy, is now backed by Skoda.

The agreement will see Skoda cars being used on the day-long driver training courses that aim to reduce accidents and fatalities, means that the Czech brand now has another Holden holding – it also, of course, has just taken the massive police patrol car contract that the Australian brand fed for years.

“Road Safety is important to Skoda. We do everything we can to keep our drivers safe by providing advanced safety technologies in our cars, that should both actively prevent accidents and protect occupants in case of an emergency; but we also want to contribute to individual driver safety,” explains Rodney Gillard (pictured), general manager for Skoda New Zealand.

 “That’s why this new partnership with Street Smart is so exciting for us.”

Street Smart is a world-class best practice cognitive based driver programme. Created in 2018 in conjunction with well-known road safety expert Peter Sheppard and tested and fine-tuned by Murphy, who continues as a programme ambassador, the programme has already equipped more than 1300 young drivers with the tools needed to safely drive on our roads, be more aware and prepared.

Skoda will supply vehicles for use within the multiple exercises that participants will be part of.

These are designed to give young drivers a chance to experience the latest technology and vehicle safety innovations that are available and also gain understanding the capability of their own cars, and how different cars respond in different situations, Gillard says

The involvement is immediate. Street Smart’s first events this year are being held in the April school holidays at venues across the country.

Skoda’s electric push starting with PHEVs

Economy king PHEV Superb is just months away and a version of the just-launched new Octavia will follow in early 2022.

The Superb iV delivers optimal economy of 1.5 litres per 100km and just 35 grams per 100km emissions.

PLUG-IN electric versions of two staple Skoda road cars, the Superb and the Octavia, are set to come on sale here.

Each promising up to 60 kilometres’ pure electric range, the derivatives will configure purely in wagon formats and seem likely to be particularly pushed as top choices for Green-minded fleets, though private buyers won’t be exempted.

The nation’s largest lfeet, the NZ Police, has committed to purely petrol-engined Superb station wagons as primary response vehicles.

Skoda New Zealand general manager Rodney Gillard says the PHEV Superb, which will be here around July-August, was not proposed for the patrol car deal but it is serving in that role overseas and was subject of general chat during Monday’s unveiling of the first Superb fitted out with Police equipment and livery.

Skoda NZ general manager Rodney Gillard with the new Octavia, released today in petrol Style and RS formats. The PHEV Octavia iV comes early next year.

He thinks it’s probable Police might like to drive the derivative at some point to compare against the visually similar 162kW front-drive and 206kW all-wheel-drive models set to go on patrol by June, with more than 300 on the front line by year-end.

Running a 1.4-litre petrol engine in tandem with an electric motor, the PHEV has a comparable performance to the Police’s 2.0-litre choices, but wallops them in respect to the efficiency the force claims was a winning factor.

Police have said they like their new cars’ CO2 counts, though these are still well above the 105 grams per kilometre average Government wants to impose and only slightly better than the output from the outgoing Holden ZB Commodore 2.0-litre.

The PHEV Superb is far Greener, with Skoda claiming just 35g/km in optimal operation. Economy is also much sharper, with an optimal 1.5 litres per 100km. 

As much as Police have locked into their patrol car choices, Skoda NZ is engaging in discussion to supply other product.

One subject of conversation is the suitability of another model, thought to be the Kodiaq sports utility, for conversion into dog handler vehicles, to replace the current Holden Acadias and Commodores. Conceivably, then, the iV model might still have a role with the Force.

Identified though having a small additional flap for the battery charge port and a market-new ‘iV’ badge on the boot, the PHEV models will sustain Skoda’s electric push here for the next two years, with Gillard today becoming the second local VW Group brand boss in a week to concede the availability of his brand’s fully electric car, the Enyaq iV crossover, will take longer than planned.

However, he is confident the iV Octavia and Superb wagons will be welcomed just as warmly, saying their availability is due to the Czech make looking favourably at NZ as a good pilot market for the models, to the point where the types’ availability was advanced.

“That’s the start to our roadmap for electric vehicles for Skoda (here).”

The iV cars’ drivetrain marries the engine to a 85kW electric motor fed by a 13kWh battery, running in front-drive format through an automatic transmission.

The combined system maximum power outputs are 152kW for the Octavia and 160kW for the Superb, while the latter’s claimed optimal 400Nm torque is 50Nm more than the Octavia musters.

Zero to 100kmh times are 7.7 seconds for the Octavia and 7.8s for the Superb. Both have the same WLTP-determined electric-only range. 

The Octavia iV is coming early next year to join 110kW/250Nm $47,990 1.4-litre Style and $57,990 180kW/370Nm 2.0-litre RS wagon versions that are releasing into the market now.

Skoda NZ says it’s too early to discuss pricing and local specifications for the iV cars, which have a modest reduction in boot capacity over the ICE editions, on account of where the lithium-ion battery is placed behind the rear seats.

The models are expected to remain popular after Skoda NZ manages to secure the fully electric Enyaq.

Gillard’s thought that this is unlikely to occur until 2023 exactly echoes a message from VW NZ’s general manager Greg Leet a week ago about a sister ship, the ID4.

Confirmation that the ID4 and Enyaq are delayed raises questions about whether two other sister ships promised for NZ - an Audi (the Q4 e-Tron) and a Cupra (called Born) – will also be hindered. 

All are on a new platform, called MEB, that is driving VW Group’s electric car ambition.

VW Group has sole production dibs on the MEB underpinning and appears to have a direct say in determining market release schedules and individual product availabilities for the cars that employ it.

Gillard says that’s not a situation he has experienced before, but it’s one he has to accept.

Accordingly, as much as he will keep pushing for a pre-2023 release, he accepts the greater probability is that this ideal won’t be realised. Quite potentially, too, VW will get its car into market first. 

Meantime, he is focussing on a positive – the big lift that the Police deal gives his brand.

The impact on sales volume will be huge, he says. The sales target of 2200 cars this year is 1000 units above the 2021 actual, which proved 400 units below forecast.  

This has been blamed on Covid-19 supply restrictions that are still being felt, with Skoda’s NZ getting used to its stock reserves being all but depleted at the end of most months.

“We are right now finishing the month with just seven cars in stock … the last three months we’ve been finishing with less than 10 cars in stock.”

 It’s something an industry veteran of almost 30 years has never experienced before.

On top of this, the global shortage of semi-conductors has hurt production of Octavia, as it uses more advanced electronics than other Skoda models (which are not affected by that issue). All this has meant Skoda NZ has managed to secure a small count of new Octavias to launch now, so few it could not stage a driving component for today’s reveal.

 That challenging climate is set to continue – “we have a fluid situation in regard to shipping, supply … there’s a lot going on and I personally see this going on for a while” – yet as much as it might make it harder for walk-ins to secure a car, Gillard assures Skoda’s factories can meet firm customer orders and has the delivery of 101 police cars by June and 353 by year-end in hand.

He says the Police deal will not only almost double Skoda’s market share, but should also lift the brand’s status.

“It’s a defining moment for us. Our challenge is to achieve awareness and consideration.”

Skoda has been a hidden secret and “I think the Police are going to unlock that.” The Superb’s selection will make the general public even more inquisitive about what’s so special about Skoda.

 The other action from Skoda NZ this year will be to launch, at year-end,  a facelift for the Kodiaq.

Octavia onslaught with wagon, conventional engines

Skoda New Zealand has finally been able to shared its proposal for a sales stalwart.

WAGON versions will take the load of expectation hefted by the new Octavia medium car in this market. 

Skoda New Zealand has today announced three load-all variants – Combis in Skoda-speak - all with conventional powerplants.

In addition to not offering thought about the potential for another liftback – though it’s understood this version could still show, but as an indent-order car - it has steered clear of mentioning when or if it might secure the hybrid editions – topped by one with plug-in recharging - that are now claiming the spotlight overseas.

The New Zealand line starts with a $47,990 110kW 1.4-litre eight-speed entry Style model and progresses to a new RS that, at $57,990 is slightly cheaper than the equivalent in the previous range, whose stock has been exhausted for some months. The new RS runs a 180kW 2.0-litre and seven-speed transmission and, like the Style, is front-drive.

These are coming in March – about three months later than the timing local general manager Rodney Gillard had hoped to achieve and a timeline that is still fluid, due to the uncertainty about coronavirus impact on production and shipping.   

When speaking about the car immediately in the wake of its international debut, back in April, Gillard had voiced optimism of an end-of-2020 entry.

Those variants will be followed at some point in the second quarter by a four-wheel-drive Scout also with the 2.0-litre and with 15mm additional ground clearance and beefed styling cues. 

Octavia has been the brand’s biggest volume model internationally and has good history here, being the car that re-introduced Kiwis to Skoda in its new-generation (meaning, VW-owned) format.

This latest car, the fourth in its generation, is based on the MQB Evo platform that’s also used by the rest of VW Group’s latest compacts. 

It remains a generously-sized vehicle. Being 19mm longer than its forebear ensures this Octavia accounts for a 4689mm space in a car park. The wheelbase has remained unchanged at 2686 mm. It’s also 15mm wider, at 1829mm. 

Skoda cites it having markedly more interior space than the current model, giving a cargo volume of 600 litres before the rear seats are lowered. 

The new gen delivers big improvements is driving assistance technology. New systems include Collision Avoidance Assist, Turn Assist, Exit Warning and Local Traffic Warning, among other features.  

 The interior is also more advanced technologically, but Skoda here might be going light on this as well.

The announcement today talks of even a head up display being optional and it is not clear if the 10.25-inch Virtual Cockpit digital instrument panel that avails overseas as an alternate to an orthodox display will feature.

The plug-in hybrid will doubtless be asked about; it achieves a 150kW output from pairing the 1.4 petrol engine with an electric motor and 13 kWh battery. All that, and an EV driving range of up to 60km in the WLTP cycle. If that’s not good enough, there’s also the new Octavia RS iV plug-in hybrid which offers 180kW and a similar EV driving range.

Skoda on patrol

Winning the contract to provision Police with their next frontline patrol car seems set to significantly improve Skoda’s market share here.

COPPING the contract to replace the police’s Holden Commodore patrol cars with its Superb station wagon will likely at least double Skoda’s market share, the make has acknowledged.

 Neither Police nor Skoda NZ will say how cars are involved, but in a statement about the deal the Police identified that the NZ force presently has more than 2000 front-line cars nationally. 

Skoda New Zealand boss Rodney Gillard says this is by far his operation’s biggest fleet opportunity, much larger than a bulk deal to provision cars to Corporate Cabs, which started four years ago, is ongoing and has so far provisioned several hundred cars. 

Last year Skoda sold around 1500 cars in New Zealand, for a 1.6 percent passenger market share, and is looking at a 1200 unit tally this year, mainly to Covid-19’s impact on buying trends and product availability. He suggested this arrangement will put Skoda in front of a much bigger audience than it has at present and did not discount suggestion that the count might be high enough to double the annual registrations volume.

Police say the Superb wagon has been accepted in two 2.0-litre petrol versions, a 162kW front-drive and 206kW four-wheel-drive. The supply kicks in from April, 2021.

The cars are essentially standard production models, which will be converted into patrol guise on arrival in New Zealand, but equivalents that represent in the showroom are presently in slightly different tune; 140kW and 200kW.

The engines offered to Police have been in models presented here previously, and Skoda NZ has suggested they might yet return in other showroom-bound versions of the Superb. The closest equivalents on public sale at present appear to be the front-drive Super Style, which has the 140kW engine and costs $65,000, and the Superb Sportline 4x4, with the 200kW engine. It’s a $71,990 car. 

The fleet changeover was forced by General Motors determining in February that Holden, which held the contract for almost 20 years with the Commodore, would cease making cars and retire as a brand.

That took the NZ Police by surprise. The hunt for a new preferred vehicle supplier was fast-tracked; they went to the new car industry with a request for proposals in July and the tender closed on August 21. Seven brands presented 27 vehicles for consideration; of these 12 were short-listed for the job, including at least one hybrid and several electrics.

While police have declined to cite the brands, other than the contract winner, the testing process at Taupo racing circuit last month allowed for easy identification of the battery-compelled Hyundai Kona and the Tesla Model 3 (above) plus the Toyota Camry hybrid. None passed muster.

Though important for selection, track and on-road testing was not the only qualifier for passing muster. Police say the cars with electric drive technologies were not only thwarted by power efficiency limitations but also when considered on grounds of total cost of ownership.

However, that experience was been positive, they say. In their statement, Police says they have gained valuable real experience with electric and hybrid vehicles and been provided with practical learnings for their future implementation. “While the technology does not currently align with Police’s core business requirements, EVs and hybrids will continue to be tested as the technology improves in terms of vehicle performance and range.” 

 Even after the Superbs start coming into the front line, some of the force’s VF and ZB Commodores will still serve, as police cars are considered for replacement at an average age of six to seven years or once the clock up 120,000km, whichever comes first. 

Police said the Superbs stood out as the “ideal primary response vehicles” throughout the process; frontline staff said they handled well, and they felt confident and safe driving the vehicle.

The spaciousness of the rear passenger area also came in for praise; a reminder of how rear-seat capacity has been a sore point in respect to the ZB Commodore liftback. It was withdrawn from frontline duties in 2019 due to health and safety issues caused by a lack of headroom in the back. Those cars were replaced with ZB station wagons.

There had been speculation German manufacturer BMW would be a strong contender for the contract given it manufactures a range of purpose-built vehicles for law enforcement and are used by police in Australia. However, no BMWs were seen at the Taupo circuit test days.

Kamiq Scoutline adds tough edge

The baby Skoda crossover now hitting NZ has a new sibling with enhanced outdoorsy attitude.

NO sooner has Skoda settled its new Kamiq into local showroom life than the parent has announced another variant that the local distributor agrees would conceivably be tasty to Kiwis.

The baby Kamiq crossover is a fitting choice to debut a new brand initiative of a tough-looking Scoutline trim level.

It’s a different recipe to the Scout trim that is becoming more familiar to New Zealand buyers.

Whereas Scout models – and for us, that’s been the Octavia for several years and a just-introduced Superb – get all-wheel-drive for a degree of off-seal ability, the Scoutline is all about dirt-treading imagery.

Changes are therefore entirely to do with enhancing the styling without touching engineering.

Accordingly, Kamiq Scoutline retains the same front-drive layout and drivetrain choices that install in the 85kW 1.0-litre $30,990 Ambition, and 110kW 1.5-litre $36,990 Amibition Plus and $42,990 Monte Carlo models that have just landed here. Europe also sees a diesel and a manual gearbox as alternate to the direct shift transmissions NZ sees.

To make the Kamiq look more like an off-roader, Skoda has given the Scoutline matte black wheel arch surrounds, a new front spoiler and a rear diffuser designed to look like underbody protection, plus extra silver flashes. There are also LED tail-lights and tinted rear windows. It rides on 17-inch wheels as standard, but 18-inch versions are on the options list.

The Scoutline model also has exclusive interior trim decoration. In Europe ash wood effect is standard, with a darker shade available as an alternative. The front seats come with a new upholstery choice made of breathable fabric and microfibre suede and stamped with a Scoutline badge. Other touchpoints like the steering wheel and gear lever are leather-trimmed, while the interior also gets three-colour ambient lighting and LED reading lights.

The spec appears to be around the same level that affords with Monte Carlo, with reversing sensors, LED headlights, a 9.2-inch touchscreen, smartphone connectivity and cruise control. 

Production begins in two months, while conceivably means that the Sportline could be available to right hand drive markets by early 2021.

With the compact crossover sector having been a hot spot – at least prior to coronavirus lockdown – and consumers showing no concern about buying into product that, regardless of what the look suggests, is suited far more to the street than sludge, it would seem a car that Skoda NZ might give serious consideration to.

So how keen is it? Well, it’s not off the table, says brand boss Rodney Gillard.

“We can see the merit. At this stage we are sticking with the three variants we have but it’s a possibility.”

Skoda’s rapid rise in New Zealand has put us in Skoda HQ’s good books and, Gillard says, is a factor as to why it gets priority over most other right-hand-drive markets, including Australia and South Africa.

“So, while at this stage that (Scoutline) is not available to us, when and if it does become available we will absolutely give it consideration.”

Meantime, he anticipates good demand for the Kamiq variants already here and says early interest reminds that the one of the car’s attributes is being  a particularly good poster child for the current Skoda look.

“It really demonstrates the strength of our styling.”

Skoda product stream still flowing

The Kamiq will launch soon and the Octavia is still maintaining inbound status for this year.

EXPECTATION of the new generation of Skoda’s international best-seller still reaching New Zealand this year remains high.

This local confidence about the Octavia comes in the wake of latest, more optimistic signals from the Skoda factory.

Having earlier indicated that the model’s international release might no longer be in June, as planned, the maker is now set to resume production next week.

While the restart is going to be gradual, there’s hope the production stream will be enough to keep local supply planning more or less intact.

Knowing all this, Skoda New Zealand general manager Rodney Gillard remains quietly hopeful he can get the car here before year end.

“We are still planning on launching this year and are working with the factory right now.”

It’ll take a couple of weeks before the factory can give absolute clarity about what this effort will deliver, insofar as the export markets are concerned. However, he says none of the talk from head office to date has raised cause for undue concern.

“There will be a delay, but at the moment it is only theoretical, not confirmed, so I still see it being available for us prior to the end of the year.” 

He also affirms another core model, the Kamiq small crossover, remains on track for local release – cars are here and they will likely become available to customers within a matter of weeks, with that process obviously made all the easier if lockdown relegates to Level Two.

In respect to that, he says the Covid-19 crisis will very likely influence the way cars are sold from now on, even if the country finally gets back to the same level of daily normality that existed before the virus was known about. 

However, he says the car industry has always shown fantastic flexibility when it comes to dealing with challenges. 

As one for instance, he reminds that the requirement for contactless interactions that will flavour the limited resumption of business under Level Three won’t seem that foreign, in that “dealers have been selling new and used cars on TradeMe for 20-odd years.”

“So I think we will just need to modify the way we do things, but we can still get on with it.”

Kamiq is key because rhe small crossover segment was the fastest-growing category prior to the Covid-19 crisis, and are expected to keep fostering interest even if new car sales fall as predicted.

Yet Skoda here also has faith the Octavia, which has been the brand’s biggest volume model internationally and was the car that re-introduced Kiwis to Skoda in its new-generation (meaning, VW-owned) format, will also be a hit. 

Some of that confidence is based on this fourth-generation line now presenting in hybrid and plug-in hybrid editions in addition to the ongoing fully fossil-fuelled variants provisioned until now.

Additional detail about the model line was revealed this week, with the covers being taken off the wagon – Combi in Skoda-speak – that will place alongside a liftback sister model that was unveiled several months ago.

The car is based on the MQB Evo platform that’s also used by the rest of VW Group’s latest compacts.

By ‘compact’ they mean in class category. Not in physical size, clearly. Being 19mm longer than its forebear ensures this Octavia accounts for a 4689mm space in a car park. The wheelbase has remained unchanged at 2686 mm. It’s also 15mm wider, at 1829mm. 

Skoda cites it having markedly more interior space than the current model, giving a cargo volume in either liftback or wagon format of 600 litres before the rear seats are lowered.

 The interior is also more advanced technologically, offering a choice of four infotainment systems from the latest-generation Modular Infotainment Matrix and a permanent online connection via an integrated eSIM.

The central touchscreen display measures 8.25 to 10 inches and supports gesture control for some functions. There’s also a Laura digital voice assistant and it has inductive smartphone charging and up to five USB-C ports on board. A 10.25-inch Virtual Cockpit digital instrument panel can be implemented as an alternate to an orthodox display.

The plug-in hybrid technology is just one Green alternate. It also provisions with a mild-hybrid setup and, in addition to petrol and diesel, European markets will also have opportunity for CNG engines.

With Skoda, the ultimate electric assisted option means alacrity in addition to efficiency. That version, called the Octavia iV, achieves a 150kW output from pairing a 1.4 TSI petrol engine with an electric motor and 13 kWh battery. All that, and an EV driving range of up to 60km in the WLTP cycle. If that’s not good enough, there’s also the new Octavia RS iV plug-in hybrid which offers 180kW and a similar EV driving range.

The new gen delivers big improvements is driving assistance technology. New systems include Collision Avoidance Assist, Turn Assist, Exit Warning and Local Traffic Warning, among other features.