Mr Money: Skoda is winning the value war
In the fight to deliver value, the Czech company seems to have triumphed thanks to products and prices that are are spot on.
It seems to me that demoralised competitors have stopped trying to compete with Skoda on product quality, price, after-sales service and overall customer satisfaction.
The cars from the Czech Republic are simply the best high-volume, brand-new, “bread and butter” cars in the world.
Under the umbrella of parent company Volkswagen (which provides access to cutting-edge engines also used in VWs and Audis), the Czechs are responsible for one or two best-in-class models.
These include the sub-£15,000 Yeti in the mini-MPV sector and the Superb in the saloon and estate market, where it more than matches the Mercedes E-class in terms of space and quality.
You can get a Superb for half the price of the similarly sized E-class – it starts at £17,455 – before you receive the large discount Skoda will force on you, whether you want a price reduction or not.
Last year it paid the 17.5 per cent VAT on behalf of its customers for what was described as a limited period only.
Astonishingly, Skoda continued to pay the higher rate of 20 per cent from January this year, but again insisted that the VAT-free concession could not last for ever.
The bad news for consumers is that the company has just stopped agreeing to pay the 20 per cent VAT, but the good news is that it has effectively decided it will now pay 15 per cent andleave the customer to pay the remaining five.
For those taking out Skoda finance loans at 7.9 per cent APR, the company will throw in free servicing for three years.
Skoda’s cars and dealers cleaned up in the recent Auto Express customer satisfaction survey, so it’s no surprise that sales are 33 per cent higher than this time last year.
And despite the firm’s generosity towards British buyers, profits are up 87 per cent, while Skoda has stated it aims to double global sales to 1.5?million per year by 2018.
Whatever happened to Chevrolet, Citroën, Hyundai, Kia, Mitsubishi and one or two others who used to – but no longer – give Skoda a run for its money?
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