A big list of small changes to the 2023 Skoda Octavia, Superb, Kamiq, and Kodiaq, but will you pay more?

Skoda has rolled out a host of pricing increases across its entire passenger car range, excluding only the Karoq mid-size SUV and new-generation Fabia, but in a rare dose of good news, the brand says its fixed national driveaway pricing won’t substantially change.

The before-on-road cost pricing increases effect the Scala hatchback, Octavia sedan and wagon, Superb sedan and wagon, Kamiq small SUV, and Kodiaq upper mid-size SUV. 

The increases range from $2300 at the top end (on the Scala Signature) to just $400 for the Octavia Limited Edition. However, Skoda Australia explained there would be minimal changes to the driveaway pricing, with the brand absorbing many of the ongoing costs.

“Skoda are trying to absorb cost increases of the MSRP by making the difference between MSRP and driveaway narrower,” explained Skoda Australia representative, Dan DeGasperi.

The Octavia, Superb, Kamiq and Kodiaq RS driveaway pricing remains the same, while the Scala range increases by $1000. The lower Kodiaq Style or Sportline grades have also jumped by $1000.

There are also a host of minor changes to the standard features across the Skoda range, which are designed to help the brand shore up its supply due to microprocessor shortages, including the removal of blind-spot monitoring (which the brand calls ‘side assist’) and rear-cross traffic alert.

“We can’t change costs from the factory, but we can control some elements locally,” continued Mr DeGasperi. “Price increases would have been larger had these spec items not been removed.”

For example, the updated Scala, Kamiq, and Kodiaq lose blind-spot monitoring and rear-cross traffic alert, moving them to a $1250 individual option. Meanwhile, the Octavia, Superb, and Kodiaq lose glovebox cooling and premium audio.

The Kodiaq range has been altered slightly, but the top-spec RS remains the same.

There are other minor changes, like the loss of electronic rear child seat locks on some models, the addition of rear LED tail-lights as standard to the Scala, and the return of the 360-degree parking suite to the Kodiaq range.

Other changes in the Skoda range include the arrival of the new Fabia, exclusively in Monte Carlo edition with a 110kW/250Nm engine ($36,990), and the removal of some variants in the range for the 2023 model year.

As previously reported, the Scala Ambition 110TSI is replaced by the Ambition 85TSI - which downsizes the engine, but increases equipment slightly - and the brand has removed the top-spec Monte Carlo grade.

The base Ambition version of the Octavia has also been removed from the range in both sedan and wagon form, while the base Kamiq of the same name has also been removed, marking the discontinuation of the last manual Skoda in Australia.

The Octavia and Superb ranges manage to survive with minimal changes to their specifications and no changes to drive-away price.

Skoda Australia is battling not only supply-related price increases, but also nosediving stock levels, with the Czech VW subsidiary down a whopping 39 per cent year-on-year to the end of June.

The brand is hopeful things will improve with the tweaked range arriving in Q4 before the end of the year.

The only existing car in Skoda’s range not affected by MSRP price rises is the two-variant Karoq mid-size SUV range, which can be had in front-wheel drive 110TSI Style form ($41,490) or all-wheel drive 140TSI Sportline form ($47,890).
See the full list of Skoda price adjustments for 2023 below.

2023 Skoda range pricing (drive-away)

Scala

Octavia

Superb

Kamiq

Kodiaq