Will Skoda be a cheap brand at the Dacia level? The new boss has revealed the cards – AutoTN.cz

The new head of the Škoda carmaker has revealed his strategy. “I am aware of the expectations and concerns associated with my person. Will Škoda be a cheap brand at the Dacia level, am I just the viceroy of Herbert Diess?” summarized the main issues they have faced since taking the lead.

Finally, he offered his version of the answer. “We want to build new potential for some markets and become more attractive to other classes of customers. Hyundai, Kia, Ford, Opel and the French are our key competitors, we will attack there,” Thomas Schäfer told employees through trade unions. The magazine Škodovácký odborář informs about it.

The future of the brand has been hotly debated for some time. When Schäfer replaced the current successful boss Bernhard Maier at the beginning of August, the group boss Herbert Diess came up with a relatively clear message: Škoda is expanding too much and competing too much with the VW brand’s premium brands. Instead, he tries to defeat the Koreans and the French. In other words: to make cheaper cars again. “It is useless to us when Škoda develops to the third premium brand within the group,” the head of Volkswagen told the German daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.

At that moment, the tension escalated. Škoda’s trade unions subsequently spoke out strongly against the parent company. They criticized the new strategy towards the Czech brand, most recently beating Volkswagen for wanting the Czech Republic to take the production of the Superb and Kodiaq models. “Isn’t this campaign against Škoda enough yet? Popularly speaking, do we have to gut Škoda from all the good, excellent things we currently have? It’s clear degradation and the way to Dacia and don’t put God under Dacia,” said union leader Jaroslav Povšík.

He now reminded the head of the company of a recent statement that in South Africa, where he previously headed the Volkswagen dealership, he was considered “chairman for the people.” That is, he was on the side of the employees.

“We have a top team here, which is embarking on the work with great dedication. With this attitude, Škoda has written and will still write an incredibly successful story. The brand is very good at it and has a great reputation. Schäfer responded.

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