It might be the week of the Frankfurt motor show, but never mind that - next week it'll be time for the de facto Irish motor show. By which I of course mean The Ploughing Championships, which are taking place from the 17th to the 19th of September, in Ballintrane, Fenagh, Co. Carlow. And Skoda, in common with so many other car companies, keen to court the rural market, will be out in force.
Superb and Kamiq for the Ploughing crowds
Skoda Ireland will bring two new cars to The Ploughing; one brand new, and one thoroughly updated. They are the new Kamiq - Skoda's small crossover, based on the same mechanical package as the Scala hatchback, and sharing its underpinnings with the SEAT Arona and Volkswagen T-Cross - and the updated Superb saloon and estate.
Superb to get plug-in hybrid
The Superb's update is pretty subtle, with very slightly altered styling front and rear (where it now, in common with other Skoda models, gets its name spelled out in letters on the bootlid) and some changes to trim and specification. More importantly, it will be this generation of Superb that introduces electric motoring to the Skoda brand, when later this year it will launch as a plug-in hybrid. The new Superb will go on sale in Ireland on the 7th of October.
Kamiq expected to push Skoda to fourth place in sales charts
Arriving a few weeks later, on the 1st of November, will be the Kamiq. It's a car that Skoda Ireland expects to sell so well that it reckons that it will be challenging for fourth position in the Irish car market thanks to the expansion in sales that the Kamiq is expected to bring.
Raymond Leddy, Head of Marketing & Product at Skoda Ireland commented: "The National Ploughing Championships is always a great event for the Skoda brand, so we are excited to unveil two new models to an expected crowd of 240,000 people. Altogether, we will display 14 of the latest Skoda Models, including Fabia, Octavia and Kodiaq. We look forward to welcoming current and future Skoda customers to our stand".