New hope for the Volksstromer? Skoda is ready – and again not
Skoda is considered a cheaper alternative to Volkswagen without having to forego the usual reliability of the car. But Skoda boss Klaus Zellmer does not want his company to be perceived as a cheap brand. Nevertheless, there is good news for anyone hoping for an affordable electric car.
Skoda boss: We are not a cheap brand
Anyone who decides to buy a Skoda is buying technology from Volkswagen, only for less money. This truism among car buyers has been around for a long time. So is Skoda cheap? Klaus Zellmer, new Skoda boss since the summer, doesn’t want to leave it like that: “Whoever was in the past spoken at Skoda of a cheap brand was pretty wrong about that,” explains the CEO Handelsblatt.
To a certain extent, the new leader at Skoda takes the air out of the sails of customers who were hoping to get an affordable electric car from Skoda. But industry expert Stefan Bratzel, director of the Center of Automotive Research in Belgisch-Gladbach, states: “Skoda must not get too close to Volkswagen.” This applies to the equipment of the cars, the position and appearance of the brand – but also to the price.
Skoda has to stay well below VW with its prices, but at the same time keep the quality standards appropriately high in order not to appear as a cheap brand.
Zellmer also sees VW and the group brand Skoda as clearly separated from each other and wants to keep it that way. While VW is increasingly relying on digital features, especially with its ID series e-cars, Skoda “more conservative in its digital presence” stay. The Czechs should focus less on digital equipment, instead they want to focus on the values of “honesty and down-to-earthness”.
You have to pay attention to the not to overwhelm customers technically, Zellmer is sure. This should be particularly true with the switch to more electromobility, which Skoda now wants to pull through even faster.
The same applies to Skoda: e-cars have to score points with low prices compared to combustion engines.
Skoda and VW: The status quo will remain in the electric future
According to Bratzel, Skoda should have a clear position within the VW Group: the first, above all simple and inexpensive, entry into the VW world. In the next step, Skoda customers could be introduced to the entire group range. Customers who are familiar with this strategy but are deliberately not participating should also be able to find a lot of VW at Skoda in the future. On the one hand at a lower price than the main brand, but on the other hand not dirt cheap.
