A small car with big aspirations.
Skoda might not be quite as mainstream as its sibling-brand Volkswagen, but in China, the Czech carmaker has a presence that shouldn’t be scoffed at. With some 325,000 cars sold in China last year, Skoda knows that there’s value still to be tapped there, which is why they’re rolling out a new car just for them.
It’s called the Kamiq, and it’s a compact crossover that will slot below the Karoq and offer Chinese buyers a Kodiaq-lite experience.
The Kamiq is being rolled out in direct response to the China’s overwhelming demand for SUVs. Built off of the lame unique PQ platform that the Chinese-market Skoda Rapid is built on, the Kamiq’s focus on one market should see it fitted with the sort of bells and whistles that China is particularly responsive to.
What’s known now though is that the Kamiq has little possibility of global offering, due to the use of that China-only platform. That platform has also meant that Skoda cannot offer the Kamiq with an electrified powertrain of any kind, further limiting its global appeal. We’ll bring more details on the baby Skoda SUV when it launches at the Beijing autoshow, which kicks off next week.
Skoda has big plans for the Chinese market. While many would be quite pleased with 2017’s sales figure of about 325,000 cars, the Czech carmaker aims to double its sales to 600,000 units annually by 2020. The Kamiq is one of two China-exclusive SUVs set to debut this year, with the other being a coupe-roofed version of the Kodiaq, both of which are sure to play a critical role in achieving those targets.
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