New Kodiaq has strong early sales

The new Skoda Kodiaq large SUV has had half its first year allocation pre-sold before it officially went on sale, writes Brian Byrne.

Speaking at the cars Irish press launch, Skoda Ireland MD John Donegan said they expected to sell 1,000 for the remainder of this year, and 1,500 in 2018.

The cars main competition is the Nissan X-Trail, the Kia Sorento and the Hyundai Santa Fe.

At a starting price for the entry level 5-door of €28,795, the new car will be a game-changer for the brand in Ireland, Donegan said, bringing the brand into a complete new segment.

"It will be a key model to help us reach an 8pc market share," he added. The brand is expecting to achieve a 6.9pc market share through 20 17.

The Kodiaq is available with 1.4 petrol engines of 125hp and 150hp outputs, and with 2.0 diesels of 150hp/190hp. It comes in FWD and AWD configurations.

Some 70pc of pre-orders are 7-seat, and a similar percentage are AWD.