Skoda Plans New Models

As part of the Volkswagen Group, Czech manufacturer Skoda has to do its best to help the mother company achieve its goal of becoming the number one auto maker in the world by 2018. And, judging by the good numbers posted for the first two months of the year, as well as by the ones of 2010, the car maker should have a smooth ride.

In line with the policy dictated by VW that growth can only be achieved by increasing the number of models and expanding into yet-untapped markets, Skoda confirmed this week that in 2012 it would be launching at least two new models.

The first will be a compact sedan that will be slotted in between the Fabia and Octavia models. This model will be built as a volume car, in line with the Skoda manufacturing philosophy. The details surrounding this model are at the time scarce, but more is expected to surface throughout the year.

The second one, a city car, will be launched by the end of the year. Design wise, both models have been already previewed at the Geneva Auto Show earlier this month by the VisionD concept.

According to Worldcarfans, the new city car will be a version of the Volkswagen Up! and it will be powered by a series of small displacement engines and even an electric power train.

"This car is our answer to the increasingly strong demand for small cars with low fuel consumption and affordable costs of operation and offers a new sales potential in Europe for us," said Winfried Vahland, Skoda chairman of the board.