Bienvenue Skoda Rapid - Skoda At The Mondial De L'automobile In Paris
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PARIS/MLADA BOLESLAV – Sept 25, 2012: Skoda’s appearance at the 2012 Paris Automobile Salon (September 27th – October 14th, 2012) is dominated by the Skoda Rapid. This new compact saloon will be seeing its world debut in Paris. This car, the first to feature Skoda wholly new design, underscores the brand’s growth ambitions. The Skoda Rapid will be introduced in Europe from the end of October, continuing Skoda international model offensive. In 2012, the brand has been growing rapidly, increasing deliveries to customers by 8.5 per cent to a new record of more than 633,300 from January through August.
As in the past years, Škoda also proved very successful in the 2012 motorsport season, securing two of three titles several weeks ahead of season’s end.
In launching the Škoda Rapid, Škoda ignites the next stage of its model offensive. No surprise, then, that the brand’s new compact saloon is at the core of Skoda appearance at the Mondial in Paris. “The Škoda Rapid is Škoda’s new class and it has a central importance for our 2018 growth strategy. We think that in the years ahead, the Rapid will become our largest volume model after the Octavia,” says Skoda CEO Winfried Vahland. “Our new model line sets standards among compact saloons and it is a Skoda in the best sense: roomy, elegant and affordable at the same time, a car for the whole family, with clever solutions, modern technology, high efficiency and the best price-value ratio,” says Vahland.
The ŠkodaRapid complements Škoda’s model palette between the smaller ŠkodaFabia and the larger ŠkodaOctavia. The car’s extremely generous space offering is the benchmark in the segment. No other car in the segment offers as much knee and headroom and as large a boot volume (550 litres) as the new Škoda Rapid. “This is an extremely flexible saloon, and its boot has estate-car qualities,” says Vahland.
“Simply clever”: the car with the ice scraper inside the
fuel filler flap
As in every Škoda, the subject of practicality
has a special emphasis in the new Skoda Rapid. The new model features no
fewer than 19 “simply clever” solutions. One example of a
solution that is especially ingenious, is the ice scraper integrated in the
fuel filler flap, providing the ice scraper with a fixed space in the car,
so no more cumbersome searches in winter. Other practical solutions include
the reversible floor covering in the boot and practical holder underneath
the driver’s seat for the warning vest that is mandatory in many
countries.
The Škoda Rapid is the brand’s first series car to feature Skoda new design: attractive, modern, clear, precise and timelessly elegant. At the centre of the car’s front is the new Skoda logo: a precisely executed winged arrow in chrome set on a black matte base and framed by a fine chrome line. The positioning of the car’s fog-lamps and headlights is reminiscent of a cloverleaf. The Rapid’s elegant side aspect impresses with a coupé-like silhouette and a clear division of surfaces and lines. The car’s rear end again stands for clarity, freshness and precision: the taillights show the Skoda -typical C design in its new shape with a fine crystalline grind.
In the field of safety, the Skoda Rapid impresses with a comprehensive active and passive safety equipment. Electronic Stability Control (ESC) is standard in many EU countries. The engine line-up in Europe includes four petrol and two diesel aggregates, with five especially efficient GreenTec variants also available from launch.
2018 growth strategy brings results
In 2012, Skoda is showing
continued good form. In the first eight months of the year, deliveries to
customers rose 8.5 per cent to a new record of 633,300. In Russia alone,
Skoda sales grew by 44.5 per cent. In India, the brand’s sales
advanced by 34.5 per cent, in China by 7.1 per cent and in Europe as a
whole by 5.8 per cent. Revenues in the first half of the year were up 6.6
per cent to 5.7 billion euros – another half-year record, as was the
operating profit for the first six months (449 million euros). “
Skoda 2018 growth strategy is bringing tangible results,” says
Winfried Vahland. “In the first eight months of this year, we have
further improved our position in world markets and created a basis on which
we will continue on our growth course even in economically demanding times.
Skoda is on a successful route and will continue to expand on this solid
foundation in the years ahead with a view to raising sales to at least 1.5
million units per year by 2018.”
International model offensive in resolute implementation
In
pursuing its growth plans, Skoda is building on the largest model offensive
in its 117-year history. In the years ahead, the brand will launch a new or
revised model every six months on average, building on its home market in
Europe, but also especially in growth markets such as China, Russia and
India.
In China – which has become Skoda largest sales market – the compact SUV will be manufactured in collaboration with Shanghai Volkswagen from 2013. Also from 2013, the Chinese version of the new Skoda Rapid will be launched into the market.
Skoda forecasts continued strong growth in Russia. In the first eight months of this year, the brand grew three times as strongly as the Russian market overall. Just a few weeks ago, at the Moscow auto salon, the brand exhibited its new Yeti Sochi special model – a preview of Skoda sponsoring of the 2014 Winter Olympics. The launch of the Russian Skoda Rapid is also steadily approaching: in early 2014, production of the compact saloon for the Russian market will begin at Volkswagen’s plant in Kaluga, Russia.
Skoda also sees great potential in the Indian market. For a year now, the Indian variant of the Skoda Rapid has been running off the line in Pune, India. The Indian compact saloon has established a presence for Skoda in the market’s largest segment.
The Indian Skoda Rapid is proving extremely popular with customers and immediately was voted India’s Family Car of the Year. In the first eight months of 2012, the new model accounted about 60 per cent of the brand’s sales in India.
Motorsport: prospects of victory in three rally
championships
As in earlier years, Skoda is again proving very
successful on international rally stages this year with excellent prospects
for a “triple” in the 2012 rally season with a Skoda driver
already having secured the crown in two of three competitions. Škoda
works driver Juho Hänninen, together with his co-pilot Mikko Markkula,
became the early winner of the European Rally Championship, while
Škoda pilot Jan Kopecký, with his co-pilot Pavel Dresler, took the
honour of Czech champion. In addition, Škoda is clearly in the lead in
the Intercontinental Rally Challenge (IRC) and is on track for a third
consecutive IRC manufacturers’ trophy. Also, Andreas Mikkelsen of
Škoda UK Motorsport is leading the current IRC drivers’ ranking.
This season’s results so far mean Škoda Motorsport is seamlessly
extending its run of successes in recent years.
Skoda at the mondial de l’automobile 2012 in
paris: