Skoda is already preparing its return to the United States

It seems that Skoda is getting ever closer to crossing “the pond” again and selling vehicles in the complicated American market. And we say complicated because there, in the United States, the typical customer looks for vehicles with a style different from the European one.

The CEO of the Czech brand, Bernhard Maier, recently made some statements in which he affirmed that the return to the North American market was a matter they would have to decide over the next year, 2017.

For 50 years the company headquartered in the Czech Republic has not sold any vehicle in the United States, and perhaps the scandal created by Volkswagen could tarnish the image of Skoda, which would practically be “the death” for the Czechs. However, of VAG, the brand most harmed by that whole affair was Volkswagen for carrying the name of the group and for being the one with the most “cheated” engines.

The topic of returning to the United States seems to have a great deal of prominence within the brand’s offices. And indeed Skoda has already filed registrations at the Patent Office, with names such as Yeti, Octavia and Superb, to which, very shortly, the Kodiaq will surely be added.

Precisely this last one, the Skoda Kodiaq, could be the model that best suits American tastes. SUVs are also very fashionable there, but while in Europe we lean toward models in the C-SUV and B-SUV segments, in the United States larger ones are more popular. And that is where the Kodiaq could find its niche. In theory, it would position itself as one of the large SUVs with more restrained prices, and it also has in its favor the fact that, besides being a very spacious car, it offers seven seats.

Another asset of the Czech brand would be its RS variants. Not long ago we told you that the RS range, which currently has only the Octavia in its ranks, could be expanded with the arrival of a sporty version of the Superb, the Superb RS. These powerful and eye-catching saloons could also find their place.

On the other hand, and to finish, the CEO also spoke of the arrival of electrification in some of its models. The first to receive electric propulsion will be the Superb, which, a priori, will have a plug-in hybrid version in 2019. The next goal is to launch the brand’s first fully electric car, and for four more models to follow suit before the end of 2025.

Source | Motor1 and Handelsblatt