Skoda unveiled the MissionL concept at the 2011 Frankfrut auto show. Close to the final production look, this concept car offers a glimpse of the Czech carmaker’s new compact model. The new vehicle will be launched in Europe, Russia and China in 2012, and the customers in India will see it arrive in the market even earlier, before the end of 2011.
This new compact model and the new products to follow are a guarantee of accomplishing our goal to increase global annual sales to 1.5 million vehicles by 2018. We are going to present a new car approximately every six months over the next years.” Said ŠKODA Board Chairman Prof. Dr. h.c. Winfried Vahland.
Skoda has a set an ambitious target and will launch a new model every six months.
Positioned in the segment between the Fabia and the Octavia, the new car is a typical ŠKODA that is a generously-spaced vehicle boasting a large number of solutions designed in line with the brand’s “Simply Clever” philosophy. The new car will be an attractive choice for customers looking for a high degree of practicality and an attractive price/value ratio.
The MissionL demonstrates the key design elements of the much-expected new model line. Precise, pure lines based on the brand’s new design language are apparent at first sight. The radiator grille is made up of ŠKODA’s typical vertically arranged lamellas.
The logo above them is no longer part of the grille’s chrome-plated surface, though. Instead, it is an independent item dominating the front edge of the bonnet. The impression of robustness and elegance of this almost 4.5 metre-long liftback is underlined by bold wing lines combined with 18″ lightweight alloy wheels.[nggallery id=8]
Official Press release
ŠKODA presents a design concept of its new compact model
› The VW Group evening at IAA 2011 saw a world premiere of ŠKODA’s design concept called MissionL
› The concept car offers a glimpse of the brand’s sixth model line
› Model Offensive about to start
› ŠKODA continues to grow also in the second half of this year
Mladá Boleslav/Frankfurt, 12 September, 2011 – The VW Group evening at the 2011 Frankfurt International Motor Show saw a world premiere of ŠKODA’s design concept called MissionL. Close to the final production look, this concept car offers a glimpse of the Czech carmaker’s new compact model. The new vehicle will be launched in Europe, Russia and China in 2012, and the customers in India will see it arrive in the market even earlier, before the end of 2011.
“This premiere kicks off ŠKODA’s “Model Offensive” for the coming years,” says ŠKODA Board Chairman Prof. Dr. h.c. Winfried Vahland, and goes on to say: “This new compact model and the new products to follow are a guarantee of accomplishing our goal to increase global annual sales to 1.5 million vehicles by 2018. We are going to present a new car approximately every six months over the next years.”
“We have taken a very puristic approach to this design study – we have structured the surfaces simply, but impressively,” says ŠKODA BOD Member for Technological Development Eckhard Scholz about the philosophy of this concept. “The car’s strong, sporty look conveys straightforwardness and a youthful character. Many people look for clean, minimalistic lines these days, and the MissionL concept offers all that,” adds Eckhard Scholz.
The “Model Offensive” is supposed to support the brand’s dynamic growth. Compared with 2010, the sales of vehicles with the winged arrow emblem on the bonnet grew by 18.3 % to 583.600 vehicles over the first eight months of this year. The most dynamic growth is seen in Russia, India and China. The January-August sales in China grew by 29.2 % to 148.862 vehicles, in Russia the sales as at the end of August totalled 43.604 vehicles and the Czech based carmaker is on a steep rise also in India: 18.980 vehicles sold in this country represent 50.4% growth as compared with the same period of last year.
“One year after the launch of the 2018 Growth Strategy, we can say we are keeping the right course,” says Vahland about the last twelve months: “We have laid the foundations for ŠKODA’s product offensive at IAA. The extension of our product portfolio will help us increase the speed of our growth some more in the coming years.”
ŠKODA AT the 2011 IAA
– The “Model Offensive” is about to start – in its world premiere, a design concept called MissionL reveals the look of ŠKODA’s new model
– The brand’s sixth model line
– Generous space and an excellent price/value ratio
– ŠKODA remains on course to grow internationally
– Record sales, turnover and profit in the first half of 2011
– Rallying achievements are the best way of celebrating 110 years of the brand’s motorsport efforts
Frankfurt, 13 September, 2011 – As the world premiere, ŠKODA will present a design concept called MissionL at this year’s Frankfurt International Motor Show. Close to the series-production design, this concept car reveals the look of the ŠKODA’s new model line that is to become symbolic of the Czech carmaker’s planned “Model Offensive”.
The new compact vehicle will be launched in Europe, Russia, China and India. In line with the internationalisation principles, this compact car will feature specific modifications in each of these regions. All these steps are in line with the goals of ŠKODA’s 2018 growth strategy that were set last year. The brand looks to increase its global annual sales to 1.5 million vehicles by 2018. This year’s results show that ŠKODA is growing substantially in all relevant areas.
The brand’s sales grew by 18.3% year on year over the first eight months of this year, turnover grew by more than 25%, and operating results by 81.5 % in the first half of 2011. In addition to all that, the Czech-based car manufacturer is going full steam ahead in motorsport, too. After three quarters of this season, Fabia Super 2000s top the current rankings in both the S-WRC and the Intercontinental Rally Challenge (IRC).
Model Offensive: strategic impulse for further growth
The heart of ŠKODA’s 1732 m2 presentation in Hall 3 is the MissionL, a design concept that is close to the final production design. “The MissionL reveals the look of our new compact model, the core of our “Model Offensive”,” says ŠKODA Board Chairman Prof. Dr. h.c. Winfried Vahland. “Our current model portfolio is a success in the markets where we are present. This new compact model and the other new products that we are already preparing are a guarantee of dynamic growth. ŠKODA is going full steam ahead now and is going to keep up this speed in the years to come as well.
We will launch a new model every six months on average.” With its new compact line, the carmaker looks to support its sales in Europe, as well as in the growth markets of Russia and China. The vehicle specifications will be adapted to meet the requirements of customers in big regional markets.
Positioned in the segment between the Fabia and the Octavia, the new car is a typical ŠKODA that is a generously-spaced vehicle boasting a large number of solutions designed in line with the brand’s “Simply Clever” philosophy. The new car will be an attractive choice for customers looking for a high degree of practicality and an attractive price/value ratio.
The MissionL demonstrates the key design elements of the much-expected new model line. Precise, pure lines based on the brand’s new design language are apparent at first sight. The radiator grille is made up of ŠKODA’s typical vertically arranged lamellas. The logo above them is no longer part of the grille’s chrome-plated surface, though. Instead, it is an independent item dominating the front edge of the bonnet. The impression of robustness and elegance of this almost 4.5 metre-long liftback is underlined by bold wing lines combined with 18″ lightweight alloy wheels.
Internationalisation remains a priority
With its new models, ŠKODA continues to grow internationally. The brand set a number of sales records in the first eight months of 2011, including in China, India and Russia. Sales grew by 18.3% year on year over the first eight months of 2011, i.e. 583,600 cars. Sales in China grew by 29.2%, India and Russia grew by 50.4 and 44.0%, respectively. “In line with our growth strategy, we are looking to substantially strengthen our positions in these countries in the years to come,” said Prof. Vahland.
In this connection, the Czech-based car manufacturer has intensified its international production activities. Starting from mid 2013, a Yeti for the Chinese market will be produced locally. Furthermore, ŠKODA (in cooperation with Shanghai Volkswagen) will produce a new compact model for this market beginning in 2013, thus increasing the number of models produced in China to five. The brand will also expand its production in Russia through the Volkswagen Group’s partnership with the Russian-based car manufacturer GAZ Group. The GAZ plant in Nizhny Novgorod will start producing the Yeti in the fourth quarter of 2012. In India, ŠKODA will launch production of a brand new compact sedan before the end of this year.
The record-breaking year 2011: one step nearer the big goal
ŠKODA is building its growth plans on a solid financial foundation. The brand sold more cars worldwide over the first eight months of 2011 than ever before. Compared with the same period of last year, ŠKODA’s sales grew by 18.3% to 583,600 vehicles. “Our full-year target is more than 800,000 vehicles, a new record,” stresses Vahland.
The company’s financial results are positive too, revenues grew by 25.7 % in total to EUR 5.4 billion in the first half of 2011 (EUR 4.3 billion last year), operating results were 81.5 % higher than that achieved in the same period of last year, a new record– (EUR 412 million this year, EUR 227 million last year), and pre-tax profits totalled EUR 388 million, which is 81.3 % more than in the first half of 2010. ŠKODA’s net liquidity grew to EUR 2.0 billion over the first six months of this year (EUR 1.6 billion as at 31 December, 2010).
Fabia Super 2000 – on the way to defending the IRC title
Both symbolically and literally, ŠKODA is going full steam ahead also on rally stages. The brand is celebrating 110 years of its motorsport efforts in 2011, and is indeed going from strength to strength. Juho Hänninen & Mikko Markkula (FIN) of the Red Bull ŠKODA team tops the current rankings of the S-WRC, and the Fabia Super 2000 also dominates the Intercontinental Rally Challenge (IRC). After winning the IRC title in 2010, the ŠKODA Motorsport team is in the lead in both the Manufacturers Cup and the Drivers Cup, with only three more events to go this season. The first three places in the driver rankings are currently occupied by drivers of Fabia Super 2000s.
