The Volkswagen Group plan to increase differentiation among the VW, Škoda and SEAT brands, pushing SEAT upmarket while focusing Škoda more on challenging lower-priced rivals such as Hyundai, Kia, and Dacia.
“We want to manage our brand identities more clearly in future”, VW Group’s product strategy chief Michael Jost told Automobilwoche. “Seat could represent even more emotional cars, as exemplified by the Cupra models. Škoda could serve Eastern European markets more intensively, as well as customers seeking functionality”.
The result could mean a rise in pricing for SEAT models compared with the VW brand. It would also mean that SEAT could become a rival to FCA’s Alfa Romeo brand, a desire of former VW Chairman Ferdinand Piech.
Škoda
will likely scale down premium extras in future models and focus more on
previously neglected markets, especially in eastern Europe where Hyundai, Kia,
and Dacia have pushed down VW Group’s market share.
