American Reacts to Why Skoda Doesn't Sell Cars in the USA...
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- Опубліковано 26 жов 2023
- original - - • The only Skoda Superb ...
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You're the first person in the English speaking world that I've heard pronounce Skoda properly! Well done!
Wel... he did not pronounce it properly though. The Czech "o" in Škoda is very short and sounds like the one in “origins". The way he pronounces it, would be Czech "Škouda".
And don't get me started on Hyundai - for the record it's 'hur-yun-day'
Haha yeah but I'm still call I soda instead of schkoda lol
There used to be a joke years ago; why do skodas have heated rear windows? To keep your hands warm when you're pushing it. Not relevant, I know, this just made me think of it for some reason...
@@jamiejames9593 As far as i know all cars have heated rear windows. Haven't seen one without, ever.
I think the real reason why Škoda is not in US is simply because they would sell better, than VW. They are basically VW, but cheaper /w less luxury and more quality-of-life features.
Edit: Because with marketing, anything can become a recognized brand.
I agree!
Well they are merging into becoming what you are descirbing as VW. The price increases etc. in the last years have been brutal even if you include the average prices increase. They are trying to become (already kind of happend) a upper midclass, luxury, lifestyle brand.
I think Skoda should be described as a VW counterpart for Seat vs Audi. (Note that all of those brands are owned by VAG.)
Seat is basically a low budget version of Audi with tech that's about two years older than Audi. Skoda is basically a low budget version of VW with tech that's a couple of years older than the tech in VW cars. Some think that that's bad, I would argue that it's sensible to let other people to test new tech before deciding if you want to have long term relationship with that tech. The tech that is prone to fail in Audi/VW during first years is never even copied to Seat/Skoda.
That said, you have to compare similar class cars for this to make sense. If you take top of the line Skoda Superb and compare it to baseline Golf, the Skoda will appear as the premium car.
@@MikkoRantalainen I'd beg to differ regarding the tech being two years older than VW in modern Skodas. My 2021 Skoda has a digital instrument cluster, blind spot detection, lane keeping assist etc.....
Skoda is designed for the East and Skoda Superb is a VW Passat / Audi A4. The Octavia is Golf class.
Hi from Greece. I had a Skoda Superb 2004 model 1.9 l diesel. It was a taxi. I covered 1.25 million kilometers. It was an amazing car. The original engine lasted 937.000 kilometers
937k km? My Passat 1.9 TDI has only 867k km
@@Capt.-Nemo the original engine reached 937k and the only major repairs were a change of the cam shaft at 380k, a turbo repair at 550k and a change of fuel injectors at 730k. The only problem I had was with 5 speed manual transmission until I changed it with a six speed manual one.
The old 1.9 TDi engines from VW are the real work horses. Sadly they were ruined by the 2.0 TDI if it comes to reliability.
@@GoalSquad666 Was there something fundamental bad on 2.0s? My better half had 2.0 16v PD and I think it was quite nice. Quite powerful, but consumption was very low. It had a lot wiring issues after 300k km because A) There were a lot more electronics B) Engine support bushes were too weared and the wiring harness didn't flex enough. It was quite cheap to maintain and fix.
@@GoalSquad666 I couldn’t agree more
I've owned a Skoda, 2 Mercs, a Porsche and a Jaguar, and the Skoda was the only one that didn't have any problems!
That sounds like my son. In just over 2 years he had an F type jaguar, a porsche, a Mercedes, and a bmw. None of which he's been happy with
then you are a lucky one skodas make problem like every other brand too
I actually love Škoda but my last Octavia had big issues with the panoramic retractable sun roof. And my current Octavia has an Infotainment System that's a constantly crashing and tenacious electronic nightmare even after several updates. But these problems seem to be the case with all VW and subsidiary models based on that plattform.
I have a colleague who is driving a somewhat older Superb VS (VS is the performance variant for Skoda). He is currently at 280.000km WITH a dual clutch auto transmission which are famously unrealiable. And he NEVER had any repairs done, only service.
Octavia was some year most selling model in Finland
7:36 - Before 1990, the Czech Republic was in the Eastern Bloc, so the technology was a bit old-fashioned. After 1990, VW brought Skoda to western standards. The Czechs have always been good at metalworking.
The reason why VW doesn't deliver Skodas to the USA is probably the same as it used to be with Opel. Opel is a good German car brand, but it was part of GM for almost 100 years and GM didn't want to compete with itself.
Opel did go to America under the name of Saturn, model names where still the same Astra, Vue was a Opel Antara, Aura was a Vectra/Signum, Sky was a Opel GT. Unfortunately GM let Saturn go defunct
Obviously they were good at metalworking, who else was helping the Germans make tanks if not Skoda?
Opel was in America before Saturn. I owned an Opel Kadett in the early 80s, and my uncle owned it for years before he sold it to me.@@nowayout20042003
@@minefoxc4015Yea Czechs tanks back in 1938 was much better than German ones 😊
Opel was a good brand, but not anymore 😊
In the northern England city where I live the ambulance service has fast response cars to get a paramedic rapidly to a patient in the most urgent need of assistance (cardiac arrest, etc.) The ambulance follows but will probably arrive a few minutes later. All the fast response cars are Skodas which demonstrates what good quality and reliable they must be.
In fact you could have ordered this particular generation of the Superb up to a 3.6 liter V6 and 260 horses. My dad used to have one of these and it was pretty fun to drive and annoy some people on the german autobahn with more premium cars 😅
That sounds hillarious xD
Skoda would have to set up production lines over in the US to get into the market. There are to many import taxes and restrictions to protect US based brands.
Exactly
Well, I think they could co-produce at the facilities of VW and vice versa just as they do elsewhere over the world. Shouldn't be a big deal after all. And as the mother company already has the logistics they may be importing stuff from the Czech Republic by now already.
If that was true we wouldn't have dozens of foreign car brands sold in the US. I think it's because not too many Americans would be willing to buy Eastern European car. Stereotypes still exist which is sad because Skoda is a good car.
@@mk6022 What foreign brands do not have factories in the US producing cars for the north American market?
There are a lot of Skodas in europe, seen many in spain and UK. I would say it is the favourite brand in Hungary for the last decade.
Finland too,alot. Works really good in winter times.
If it comes to cheaper cars, Suzuki has definitely taken over in Hungary, mostly because they getting manufactured there.
If you refer to the Fabia, yes, there a couple but I wouldn't call it favorite; but maybe it depends on the town, as I was just a few weeks ago in Sopron, and visit Hungary relative frequent.
If u ever go to Czechia literari almost every car is an Škoda
I had a UK spec Skoda Fabia about 10 years ago. Nothing fancy but it was well built, nice to drive, comfy and good on fuel, never went wrong. Great little car.
We still have 1st gen Škoda Fabia. Its popular car because it costs nothing to replace anthing and the engine itself is immortal
Fabias are cheap and immortal :P
@@ANUBISseyes2 Same like Felicia
Newer Fabias are quite nice on the other hand. Older ones were really basic and cheap looking.
For years I wanted to get a Passat and then when I finally was in a financial position to do that, that model of Superb was out and... it was so much roomier and feature full than a Passat for a bit less money and a better warranty so... I didn't expect I'd be buying a Skoda but they're great. (Oh and yeah, in Australia here)
Skoda's are great. Why buy a Passat when a Superb does the job very well and you're not making any compromise, the Skoda may actually be a bit better in some regards. I'd totally buy a Superb estate here in Sweden over a Passat estate. But I am biased towards Volvo so if I had to pick I might go for a V90 instead ;)
@@tobias_dahlberg yeah it's the estate/wagon I have. The model range here in Australia is very truncated cf Europe. In fact, they only brought the top 2 2l petrol and diesel engine versions unlike Europe where you even have 1.4l petrol I think? Crazy in a car that size. Mine is the "bottom" of the range in Australia which is the 162kw/350Nm 2l petrol model. Had it 6 years and still loving it.
@@andrewdavidson665 Nice. Skoda's simply make sense and are reasonable. They're like Volvo in the 2000's before they turned more luxurious and expensive.
The Skoda Superb is made on the Audi A6 platform, not the Passat.
The Superb in the video, is not even the topline spec version of the Superb.
we had plenty of jokes about Skoda here in denmark when they came out in the 90s here!the transmission was a joke, then VW bought the company, installed lots of their car engineering goodies in the cars!became a cheap option for the ordinary working man and now are more roomier!
we have a lot of diesel Skodas with 500,000 km mileage here in Ukraine that do their job, but it`s Fabia and Octavia mostly
The guy is from Ireland, so the car could be UK or Irish spec, and if it’s on diplomatic plates, the plates may be attached to either the UK or Irish embassy
The "DLK" on the license plates means that it belongs to a diplomat from the delegation of the European Union and not a normal national embassy
The last generation of Skoda Superb is made in Slovakia Bratislava. And the iconic look is created by Jozef Kaban from Slovakia. So Skoda is still a Czechoslovakian brand. ❤
For my job I ride taxis very frequently. The vast majority of taxis in my country are Mercedes, but occasionally you can find a few other brands like VW or Ford and more recently Teslas. But the best ever taxi ride I've ever had was easily in a Skoda Superb - and it's not even close. No other taxi has ever had as comfortable seats and just a ridiculous amount of leg room in the back.
Indeed, that's one of the biggest Superb's advanteges, the leg room is simply superb.
If you go to the Canary Islands You can see what driver is a employer and who's the employee. The owner drives a Mercedes. His employees drive Seat/Skoda
The Superb interior room is gigantic for its class. The rear room in particular is ridiculous. 👍
I dont find the rear legroom in the Superb ridiculous, but i do find it ridiculous that all cars dont have this as standard 😢 I am 6'2 and really struggle in the back seat of some cars...
Where I am in the UK, Skodas are by far the most common make of taxi.
The Octavia RS Combi in in Velvet Red with black trim is a thing of beauty. I'm sure more people in the US would buy Audi Avant, Mercedes T or BMW Touring models, if they knew they existed.
Hello from the UK, I've had a Fabia, an Octavia and a Yeti. I currently have a Karoq which replaced Yeti in the Skoda range. All the Skodas I've had have been really good and very reliable. A lot people here are now switching back to petrol versions because diesels have higher emissions, higher road tax and diesel is dearer to buy. A nifty feature of my Karoq is you can take 1,2 or all 3 back seats out which increases the available boot space.
I had a Octavia 1.8T - 03 tuned to 190hp. Loved it and owned it for 17 years! A perfect car for swedish weather
I am from Germany and I have the second Octavia, II. and III. gen. Though most parts are off the VW shelf ( Buttons, Electric and mechanical parts), Skoda has some very own and unique features and solutions. Their best selling model, the Octavia is based on the VW Golf, though it offers more room (especially for the rear passengers) and the trunk is larger. For quite some time they were a good part cheaper (they are the best selling import Brand in Germany ) than their VW counterpart. However a few years ago prices went up (rumor said VW urged them to do so, to sell more of the VW own cars). Anyway IMHO they are the better choice.
Not really a rumour about VW. Skoda outsold them in several countries AFAIK, and some changes were made in VW leadership after that.
as a skoda lover and driver, cool to see that you like em
Hello to Bob Flavin driver of Skoda, Irish petrolhead and journalist. Recently fighting 💪💪💪with cancer, recovering after surgery and radiotherapy.
My first introduction to the Skoda brand as an American was the Skoda Octavia rally car that was in Evolution Studios' first WRC game for the PS2. I still have the user manual for that game, which features a section detailing each car with pictures. I liked having that little piece of literature to carry around with me when I had to go school and couldn't actually be home to play the game.
My number one consideration in buying a car is where do I have to take it to have it serviced.
I have the chance to work in a Skoda dealership in switzerland (preparating vehicules for delivery) and i can say that is a very good brand, taking all the good things that VW as and keeping the price lower compared to sisters cars from the group. My favorite model is the Octavia VRS, just perfect compromise in space and power! Love your videos... keep it going!
Excellent car I have the Mk3 Challenger VRS. Can put my bike in the rear easily.
I've got a 2015 5E Oktavia Combi/Wagon with a 110kW (150hp) 2.0 TDI and 6 speed manual with only 122k km's.
I got it from my mum as she bought a 22 C1 T-Cross to get in/out better and it was clear that sharing my dads 09 Caddy 2K wasn't a long term solution (even though I love the 2K's)
And it's been one of the best thing to have happened to me. It's fun to drive, more space then you could want, and I can get about 800km with a full (45L) tank, usually being around 5 and 6L per 100km.
And if we'd need to get a car trailer, a fixed ball on it could get me up to 2 tons of trailer weight.
We had Octavia for 21 Years. That car never broke down. And the new Škoda Octavia for me is the most beautiful car in the streets right now.
Biggest selling point of Superb is it’s huge backseat leg room, which you can find only in the top luxury limousines like BMW 7 series (long version) and it’s trunk space.
Thats what I was blown away with
My dad had an Octavia for many years that he bought in like 98 or 99. Think it lasted 17 or 18 years before there were to many things wrong with it. It was a 1.9L TDI diesel and a lot of car for the price. Huge trunk and fairly good space in general. The interior was kind of cheap and a lot of hard plastic. The fuel economy was amazing though.
The 1.9 TDI is the best engine ever made by anyone
I still have the 00 combi model with 2.0 litre engine. Only major flaw that has been was in thermostat housing which started to leak. The fuel economy is not amazing but i was aware that and i don't drive much nowadays.
My father bought Fabia 1st model 22 years ago and we still have it. Use it for everything. Engine is the best. Once had major repair. I'm not afraid to go on a long trip with it.
I had a 2010 MK2 Superb with the parallel parking function and it was spot on. I recently traded it in for a Renault Kadjar which has parallel park, carpark bay parking, diagonal bay parking and also bay extraction. Its quite unnerving to use initially but it works flawlessly.
A couple of side notes about Skoda, this is a very old brand and it was a premium brand before WW2. Communism did its magic (in a negative sense, though I always considered it the best Commie car out there) but after the fall of the Berlin wall, it improved rapidly again. People I know in the car industry told me that Skoda frequently wins the internal VW (or rather VAG) quality awards. But it is the Chevrolet in the group. The pecking order is as follows: (main brands only) Audi, VW, Seat (Spain), Skoda. How ever the Skoda, being the cheapest has become so luxurious that it is eating away market share from VW and even Audi in Europe. This is I think the reason it will not go to the US. It will outcompete VW in no time being much cheaper. An other reason is the logo. That cool logo depicts an American Indian arrow (from when Skoda was established). Can you imagine the woke mob? In any case if Kia can make it in the US, Skoda should (logo aside) also be able to do so, being based on VW technology).
I agree, but IMHO nobody knows that inspiration for logo was indian headband (native american - sorry, here I'm little bit confused what is right word for american natives). Logo is just arrow with wings, nothing more.
Aftter fall of the Berlin wall? It was after the Velvet revolution in Czechoslovakia. Even that Škoda is owned by Voltswagen group nowdays its still a Czech concern mainly in Mladá boleslav (CZ, Liberec district)
That may be also reason why they are now trying to replace the original logo with text-only one on new electric cars.
@@robinsebelova7103 There was legal dispute about Skoda logo and name for use in automotive with Skoda Transportation. Skoda transportation and Skoda auto finished negotiations year ago and Skoda auto can use logo with flying arrow till 2029 only.
Before (and during) WW2 it was also a major armaments manufacturer, one key reason why Czechoslovakia was annexed by Germany. In German service, the 'Panzer' 38t was recognised as the best tank during the early battles for Poland and France.
Skoda is basically the "budget" version of VW. However dont mistake the budget part to mean low quality. Some of the tech is current and some systems may be one generation (maybe 3-4 years) backdated vs. VW. But one of the main selling points over VW is that they give you one class higher cars for approximately the same price over VW. The Superb is priced slightly lower than the Passat, but has space comparable to the Phaeton or you have the Octavia priced like a Golf, but being around the size of a Passat.
The other main selling point is in the idea behind slogan of Skoda "Simply clever". There are many very small quality of life things in the car that seem and are simple, but provide every day usability upgrades. This is such simple things like a clear ice scraper in the fuel door which simultaneously acts as a magnifying glass for the tyre pressure graph it is stored in front of, a clip at the edge of the windscreen you can use to hold parking meter receipts, extra clips in the boot (trunk) for holding grocery bags in place and many other small things that make life just that little but easier.
Love videos like these. Keep then coming man!
Hi... Just enjoying your videos the last few months. Had the latest Superb SW as a replacement during the summer as my standard Peugeot 507 SW hybrid was in the repairshop because of a minor accident. Really liked it because range with Diesel was like 1100 km with one filling. What I liked the most. For average european brands it has a huge trunk. Keep it on with your videos. Do like your inthusiasm about all different things on wheels and open mind set to them.
Loads of cars here in the UK come with self park once you get past mid spec or is an option.
3:15 - Come on, Ian, don't tell me you completely missed the guy's clear irish accent since the beginning of the video! 😲
6:14 - Died out? Self-parking is still a big selling point these days! Even Teslas have it, although it doesn't work all as well as in other brands. Why would car brands abandon any feature that makes drivers even lazier than they are? 😁
11:00 - When Renault, Peugeot or Citröen, which are brands that I'm sure many US americans would recognise, never risked going back to the US market, there's no way VW would do that with a brand like Skoda that's completely unknown to US americans.
11:30 - If there's anything that would prevent european car manufacturers from venturing into the US car market it sure wouldn't be the US crash, safety or emissions' "standards".
Fiat Ducato / Citroen Jumper / Peugeot Boxer is sold in American market as Ram ProMaster. As they are under same Stellantis umbrella with Chrysler / Ram. But this is only such Stellantis product I know. In my country those vans carry mostly Citroen Jumper logo.
@@piiluja - My point is that they're not sold as Fiat or Citröen or Peugeot, nor they have the same engines, so for them it's a Dodge product.
Must be an oldish video. Bob looks so much younger than his recent videos and before his illness.
Here in Poland Skoda is number one brand of all passenger cars. It sells more cars than even Toyota.
I first heard Škoda through rally racing -- WRC -- on was the Velocity Channel, now MotorTrend Network. Along with ERC (European Rally Championship). That's coming from a fellow American!
I loved, and still love the simplistic styling of the brand!
Though VW and Skoda are pretty much sister brands, I do prefer Skoda's styling. Back in 2020 I was looking for a new car and had my eye on a mid-size sedan. My choice list was: Mazda 6, Toyota Camry, Honda Accord, and VW Passat. In the end, narrowing it down to a choice between Camry and Passat. I was leaning more toward the Passat. Part of it was an inside joke for Polish people. I liked that it is a clean and simple design, and looks dignified, almost stately. I'm also someone who puts emphasis on interior design and layout. I do like a dashboard that looks like it's been designed with the driver in mind, that is clean, good looking, and everything looks like it is right where it needs to be. However, the Passat went too far with it. It was clean and simple, but to the point of being sterile and soulless. I mentioned in another video that I had a 2016 Skoda Octavia Combi as a rental, and that interior looked so much better.
You need to visit Czech Republic mate :) You`ll find out Skoda is something like "Not great, not terrible". In matter of fact, it`s great for most of the people. I`d like you to try drive these new models (and yes, I`ve seen how you enoyed driving Favorit 136 LS) :)
It’s just good reliable car. A lot of value for your money. It certainly is not on Mercedes level. But who would expect that for Skoda price?
@@EvzenEmanuel well, there are problems, but as you said - reliable car? absolutely yes. Best car ever? well, no.
I`ll change Skoda Octavia for Ford Crown Victoria with V8 anytime :D
@@zaphodbeeblebrox8184 never said best car. Just reliable car with great price to value ratio. Definitely better and cheaper maintenance (and better gas mileage) than your V8 Ford.
@@zaphodbeeblebrox8184 so given the choice, I would also rather take the Crown Victoria. but I would say that our 1st generation Octavia is very close to it in terms of lifespan
I had the same Skoda Superb Mk2 2.0 litre Diesel wagon that was shown in the video a few years ago (2010 model). Fabulous car that regularly returned 68 mpg (UK gallons) when commuting 80 miles a day which I did 150,000+ miles in when I was working. I now have a newer Mk3 model 2016 Skoda Superb Wagon / Estate. My Superb is the top spec L&K model with a 2.0Tsi petrol engine & Haldex 4 x 4 drive system. As stock it had the 280bhp engine (from the Golf R) but mine has been chipped to produce 360bhp. A bit of wolf in sheep's clothing sleeper car (0-60 in less than 5 secs) with acres of space in the front, back seats & boot which is the largest in its class this side of a USA Limo. Mine also has the parallel parking feature mentioned in the video but I never use it. It also has Lane Assist (really annoying) which I keep turned off, cruise control (rarely used), LED matrix headlights, variable chassis control, heated seats & a host of other features. I bought mine used at 2.5 years old for half the price when it was new & I have no plans to get rid of it anytime soon. Best car I've owned to date after 50 years of driving.
Skoda started out as a budget brand when VW took them over. However, modern Skoda's are are now more upmarket (& more expensive) & some say now even better than the equivalent VW models - probably why they are not being sold in the USA. Skoda's are, as the marketing slogan says, "Simply Clever". It's a pity they don't yet make an a full electric Skoda Superb Estate (a hybrid is available but not a full electric). In fact there are hardly any sensibly priced Estate car EV's available - which is why I'm keeping my petrol one. Not everyone needs or wants an SUV.
In fact, this generation of Superb was also offered with 3.6 V6 petrol engine, but only with DSG and 4x4…
The fella driving it has an Irish accent.
So the car is probably from the Irish embassy. . 😂😂 ✌🇮🇪
I may be wrong, but I think it's Bob Flavin who has his own UA-cam channel from Ireland.
I had a 1.9TDI Octavia II and I could drive for 3.8L/100km which is according to calculator cca 62 Miles per gallon.
Mind that British MPG and American MPG are different.
@@darek4488it’s actually 74 mpg imperial.
@@darek4488 ahh forgot about that. Thanks
(Denmark) I had two of them. Fabia 2004 model and Octavia 2012 model. Both with the smallest engine and lowest level of equipment. Great cars both 🥰 and with surprisingly good resale value
Škoda has always been an underdog of the VW group. Their engineers are absolutely ingenious, even when faced with limited budget they manage to provide so many quality of life features that come as expensive premium in VW cars. In my honest opinion, VW is (rightfully) worried that Škoda cars would absolutely steamroll their core models and basically become their best selling cars in the U.S. That would mean a huge power shift in the VW Group - something the executives absolutely fear.
Highly respected 'sub-brand' of world's no. 2 traditional car company, VW Group, in UK and EU, with (in 21st c.) superb modern factories, well-built, well-engineered and good value. However, the US market is notoriously tricky for foreign car companies. So much different legislation, advertising and distributor network setup causes huge expense to import to your side of the pond. The AUDI sub- brand of VW gives you 'classy' equivalents as well as VW's well engineered Passat already.
Just a little formatting advice: if you leave no space between the - dashes - and the first and last letters of a word or sentence, it will get -crossed- out. Try adding a space before "built" and after "sub".
Thank you very much, I couldn't figure what was happening. This time it seems to have worked!@@Mighty_Ogrelord
I owned Skodas for 19 years (2000 to 2019) and loved them all! I decided a change was needed and bought another VW-group car (Spanish-made SEAT - pronounced SAY-AT). Just as good but nicer, sportier styling.
That's funny, I've been driving VW's the last 16 years and decided a change was needed and bought a Seat Leon ST last week 😂
I had the 2016 Superb as you show in the beginning. Towed my 1800 kg. caravan all over europe with it. Best caravan tower i ever had.
I own a 2012 Skoda Superb 4WD with a 3.6-litre V6. It is the best car that I have ever owned. The back seats are enormous. The interior is quality and still looks like new.
There will be premiere 2.11.2023 (For USA 11.2.2023) where they will show new Škoda Superb.
Škoda belongs to VW, but even so, VW doesn't like that it has such success, because many people preferred Škoda over VW. It is of comparable quality, if not better, and at the same time cheaper. After all, VW prefers its original brand to its sister automakers. It was also said that they are trying to limit Škoda on purpose at the expense of VW, for example in technology, or by simply not letting Škoda into some markets. Škoda does mean damage, but it is named after the great industrialist Emil Škoda, so it is named after his own name. His companies produced heavy engineering.
The emblem of Škoda is Native American headgear and arrow. It was said it is because one of directors was fascinated with Native Americans after his visit in the US in 1920s and they changed it after that.
Hi Ian. I got this Superb 2. It's fantastic car. Low consumption, huge trunk, superior leg space on rear seats and durability. Very well build car. Mine 2011 Škoda Superb 2, 2.0 TDI 103 kW has now 335.000 km and I've changed just a flywheel. (Brakes, tires, suspension, oil etc of course too)
How often do you drive it from the backseat?
Beginning to sell a new brand in the US means more than just shipping cars over the Atlantic and sell them. If you want to establish a brand you first have to set up a servicing network. and not just a dealership every 500 miles, but in every decent city. That is extremely costly to do - and that even before you sold any significant number of cars.
I guess Skoda would have a advantage because its part of the Volkswagen group, which already has this service net. So they could do it - but they would just create competition to themself that way.
And way more difficult it would be for other, totally new brands. Like Fiat, Alfa or the French brands. So even if they come to a agreement about the import bann, it would be a huge undertaking to join the US car market. There would be numerous interesting new car models, though. The new Fiat 500 is very successful in Germany for example. But so unamerican at the same time... :)
Fiat 500 is in US since 2011. My brother bought my mom 500e (EV) in Czechia and it was actually imported from US :)
from internet - One of the burning questions was about Skoda and whether the VW Group has plans to bring the Czech brand to the United States. Sadly, Diess says it's currently not on the agenda because the automaker based in Mladá Boleslav has bigger fish to fry: "For the moment, I don't think that Skoda will come to the US. Currently, we have no plans. Skoda just has taken over group responsibility for India, Russia...and is entering new segments, capacities in manufacturing and R&D are fully booked." 😒
If this is info from after 2022, there is interesting part in that. As well if the cars would be produced in Czechia, there is recently labour shortage, let's say.
I had a BMW 320 X-drive with the self parking option and it worked very well! In the narrowest parallel spaces!!
9:05 The mk2 Superb was actually also offered with the same 3.6 VR6 the Passats had
He has a strong Irish accent so on guess it's an Irish model although to be honest I would rather drive a UK model than an Irish one in the states as at least the speedo is in MPH instead of KPH (about the only difference between british and Irish cars) although in most cases the digital readout is switchable
As an Aussie, I’m aware that Australia gets used as a test market (probably more often than we know) because logistics, consumer preferences etc in this country are broadly similar to US but with a much smaller market. Maybe that’s what Škoda is doing here as we speak IDK🤷🏻♂️
Your excitement over Skoda of all things! 🤣
Also read about the skoda works building tanks for the Czech army a century ago and being in high esteem, the Germans went straight for them
He has an Irish accent. So it's probably an Irish diplomatic car.
I believe diplomats and embassy staff are exempt from certain taxes so it's not uncommon for say an Irish diplomat to buy a RHD car (where taxes are extremely high) and ship it home when their stint overseas is done. I know it happens with diplomatic staff in the EU as well.
In Australia Skoda is certainly seen as a good brand, VW quality at a cheaper price. I had a 2017 Renault that had auto parking not just parallel it did reverse and angle as well
Škoda is a VW company, so it has many parts in common with VW and Audi, but it is made in the Czech Republic. People here have a lot of experience with all these brands and everyone will tell you that Škoda is much more reliable than VW or Audi :)
Czech here ;) this baby came also with 3.6 V6 gasoline engine. But yeah, the go to for EU mindset is the 2.0 4cylinder diesel. Some up to date info. This car in the video is 2. generation. Now the 4. gen is out. They became very expensive. No longer cheaper than others, for a fact they are super expensive in Czech Republic, but atleast they are still pretty realiable and well built cars. But you dont see a lot oc Czech owning them as brand new. They are expensive for us.
That Suberb had an insane amount of leg room on back seats, my initial words back when it came were "one could play tennis there".
VW is already selling their cars in the USA, there is no reason for them to bring other car manufacturers from VW Group into the US when there's already Volkswagen and Audi, Škoda's prices would be competitive with VW itself which wouldn't make sense for them, I think it would make sense bringing them into Central and South America though
Much nicer as a sedan, see plenty of them cruising the streets in Western Australia.
@-sandman4605. Agreed, the wagons are very popular though, and more prevalent here, but for me the sedan/hatch (it has a dual function boot/tailgate) is much nicer styling, so hence why I bought one of them (for me the wagon just doesn't quite look right - the bulbous rear is mismatched to quite sharp frontal styling). Cheers!
The wagons look nice as police cars in Wa
Yeah, this is the post-facelift second-gen Superb I wrote about under your Favorit video.
Very nice video. Thank you.
My skoda octavia (diesel) has over 435 000 miles! Still running under 5.2 liters of diesel/ 100 km ;)
Greetings from Prague (Czech republic).
Lol yeah the Aussie comment, i love the Octavia we got as well.
Importing a Skoda can't be a problem for the North American market. Except for the bodywork, all parts under the hood are from Volkswagen/Audi.
Too bad about the 25 year rule on importing foreign cars though.
Used to be a joke in the 80's about Skoda: why do Skoda build their showrooms on top of hills ?, So customers cannot return the cars.
Nice video! A little info for you: In the EU, VW Group intended VW to be the peoples car, Audi as the luxury brand, Seat as the sporty, young brand, ans Skoda as the budget, but the Skodas were so popular, that basicaly they had to mix things up a little, now VW and Audi are the more luxury brands, Seat is the cheap one, and Skoda is the "people's car". (Oh and Seat now basically is just rebrandig Skodas, and all the original Seat designed cars are sold as the Cupra brand)
This car can have 50mpg.
I was in Czechia last summer for a work trip and of course you get a Skoda as your rental car. We had a brand new nice Octavia with some sport package and it was so nice.. and very good to drive.
They really have nice cars in the more sportier models but also these Superb's are really nice and spacious for a family f.e.
Skoda Superbs are mostly used by taxi drivers in Northern Ireland. You rarely see them used by the general public
Skoda is one of the best cars for taxis, the door can take some hammer. although cheap they are very hardy, hence taxi favs
I got a brand new Škoda Octavia RS about 4 weeks ago and it does auto parking, although it is super slow. It was included with the reversing camera.
What i personally like about Skoda is that it's easier to do minor repairs and if you have tools and good garage even some major ones.
I had Ford and Citroen and it was such a cancer to even switch lights off, in Skoda i could do it under minute and when i had older Skoda before cost of repairs were usually 30-60 euro per part which is nothing. I didn't go to car service until i broke pipe or something and it needed welding lol.. 🤣
Fun fact this generáciou of superb was also offert with 3.5l v6 and 4x4 , slovak and czech highway patrol still using this cars today . And also latest generácion has golf-r drivetrain (detuned to 280 HP)
I have this one, just pre-facelift 2010. It can cover upto 750 miles per its 14,5 gallon tank on freeway or about my average 450 miles on twisty country road with heavy foot.
Funfact Škoda as a member of VW Concern will produce it´s newest version of Škoda Superb in VW Bratislava factory (Slovakia) on mix production line with VW Passat. VW Passat and Škoda Superd is build on same platform. My colleagues are working to prepare the launch of full series production in 2026.
I can remember (find it somewhere on UA-cam) that VAG took some Skoda Yetis to Colorado for testing and the local VW dealer got loads of inquiries if they could buy one, same for Dacia, I think the Duster, Sandero and the Spring could be sold thorough Nissan dealers...
Ive had a few Skodas. My second car was a first generation Skoda Fabia with the famous 1.9tdi engine and was awesome. Then my fourth car was a second gen Skoda fabia in Monte Carlo spec and a limited edition Skoda Octavia vrs diesel estate (wagon), number 80 of 500 I think.
I currently own a car you don't get in America but you can buy them in Mexico which is a Seat leon cupra. Basically a front wheel drive golf R
I´m glad, that you know Škoda company, for recomendation, from Škoda the best cars are all Felicias, 1.st gen Fabia in combi and 1.st gen Octavia in all versions, some Škoda lovers also made a custom Škoda Octavia cabriolet, engineers from Mladá Boleslav are awesome.
Self parking is reasonably common on upper model euro cars, also on some Korean and Japanese cars as well.
Skodas are very popular in the Uk , even our emergency services such as police etc use them , they are excellent .
There is a another VAG groug brand from Spain and it's called Seat that also still don't make it to the US.
Seat have also sporty brand that is called Cupra and nowadays they make hybrid and electric cars. I think not many in the US have heard about that brand also.
the mk3 Focus was the first self parallel parking card. Here in Europe they marketed that heavily too
My Dad was driving a Trabant 500 then a Trabant 601. Later he switched to a Š100 and a Š105 in the old days in former GDR... Something did happend to myself...first a Škoda Octavia 1U then a Fabia 6Y and now a Felicia 791 😅...but I still got my 89' Trabant 601.
We habe a Skoda Kodiaq, love it, it has everything you need. Plus german built through VW group, cant go wrong.
There's a few car models that still have that automatic parallel parking feature. Can't recall the exact make or model, but they're still being advertised right now.
Here in Australia we also have right hand drive Škodas.
Hi @IWrocker. I have a suggestion for another car brand that apparently doesn't sell in America: it is SsangYong, a Korean cars producer. In Europe, they sell SsangYong Musso pickup, SsangYong Rexton SUV, SsangYong Korando compact SUV (which is quite a huge success in sales, as it's an affordable yet good quality car, and the smallest SsangYong, Tivoli.
we have two octavias as company cars, diesel wagon, they usually use 4,5 -5,5 l/100km one has 150 hp the other 180 hp
G'day strewth blimey crikey matey love yer work 👍
I got a 2019 Mini Cooper s here in Sweden and it can parallel park, it’s a nice party trick