I find it a pity. I really like the Skoda Rapid that sells for just 70-80k rmb. It's one of the few cars in my ideal size range that's on the chinese market. (I prefer small cars)
But it makes a lot of sense that Skoda is quitting. Chinese buyers love large cars, and Skoda's large cars are simply not competitive. For the price of an Octavia (around 13w) you can get a similarly sized Volkswagen Sagitar or Lavida, which most people view as a higher class brand than Skoda.
This is not the 2000s anymore when VW's "german" branding was high enough that another budget brand could exist below it. VW is now quickly dropping to the same budget space as Skoda. Skoda only had 2 choices, to drop their prices further and become an ultra-budget brand, or to quit the market. It makes sense that they quit since lowering prices would have made their profits disappear anyway.
But it makes a lot of sense that Skoda is quitting. Chinese buyers love large cars, and Skoda's large cars are simply not competitive. For the price of an Octavia (around 13w) you can get a similarly sized Volkswagen Sagitar or Lavida, which most people view as a higher class brand than Skoda.
This is not the 2000s anymore when VW's "german" branding was high enough that another budget brand could exist below it. VW is now quickly dropping to the same budget space as Skoda. Skoda only had 2 choices, to drop their prices further and become an ultra-budget brand, or to quit the market. It makes sense that they quit since lowering prices would have made their profits disappear anyway.
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