It appears VW’s T-Roc — more Polo-sized and a rival for the likes of Toyota’s CH-R — may not be seen before 2019. Skoda would then have to wait its turn for a spin-off but will have a spare badge at the ready, with the Yeti nameplate disappearing from showrooms for now.
For Skoda’s next SUV, the Karoq due here early next year is not necessarily a replacement for the quirky Yeti but a five-seat version of the Kodiaq, according to VW Australia’s communications manager Paul Pottinger.
Skoda’s Kodiaq arrives late this month with prices starting at $42,990 and, initially, a 2-litre, four-cylinder petrol engine putting out 132kW. A 140kW turbo diesel option is due later in the year.
There’ll be the usual line-up of today’s comfort, connectivity and safety features with clever touches including strips that emerge on opening doors to prevent damage from cars or walls alongside. With a name apparently inspired by Alaska’s Kodiak bears, this Kodiaq has been well-received by overseas critics and lines up here against seven-seater SUVs such as the Mazda CX-9 and Toyota’s Kluger.
Skoda’s smaller SUV, the Karoq, makes its international debut in Sweden this month. This one, also based on VW’s MQB platform, has a name badge inspired by the indigenous Alutiiq tribe of Alaska. While that wagon is 12 months away from Australia, the VW group does have a couple of fresh all-wheel-drive machines just around the corner including an entry-level Golf All Track arriving here in July with prices starting under $35,000 to make it the cheapest VW to be offered with the acclaimed 4Motion driveline. A long wheelbase, seven-seater Tiguan looks set to be next to join the group’s growing SUV range.
Mini has reached way back into the history books for a fresh line of special edition models. The limited-run Seven 7 package is available on all three and five-door Minis until the end of July. It’s a collection of exterior and interior trim enhancements, including upgraded alloy wheels and bonnet stripes, that’s claimed to be worth $7000 but adding only $2000 to regular prices. These Seven 7 Minis take their moniker from the original Austin 7s from the late 1950s.
Mitsubishi may have slipped to sixth on the Australian top 10 charts but it is Thailand’s No 1 automotive exporter. For the 12 months to the end of March more than 300,000 Mitsubishis were shipped from Thailand, bound for 120 countries including Australia where Mitsubishi’s utes and SUVs hold up the company’s market share.
Mitsubishi was one of the first to export out of Thailand and to shift all ute production there. Today chief export destinations are Europe, followed by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations region and Asia, and North America.
Mitsubishi Motors Thailand operates four plants with more than 6000 workers; the Laem Chabang factory is the Japanese company’s largest global production hub. With Mitsubishi Motors now part of the Renault-Nissan Alliance, more growth is expected through the sharing of research and development costs, supply sourcing and better logistics across the group.
And Mitsubishi is moving to increase its take of the Indonesian market, last week opening a $565 million, 160,000-unit factory in Bekasi Prefecture. The plant and its 3000 workers first build Mitsubishi’s Pajero Sport, followed by a seven-seater van and a light commercial vehicle.
Analysts expect vehicle sales in Indonesia, with more than 260 million people, to grow faster than the overall economy. Motor vehicle ownership, at 78 per 1000 people, trails behind China and is less than half that in Thailand
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