Koda in the U.S. Would Be 'Pure Suicide,' Says Volkswagen Brass

Volkswagen AG’s Škoda subsidiary claims it’s interested in bringing the value-packed Czech brand to the U.S., even going as far as copyrighting model names, but the powers that be in Wolfsburg couldn’t hate the idea more.

According to comments published by Automobile Magazine, Volkswagen execs want nothing to do with the idea of a stateside Škoda. It looks like the surging brand’s parent company is prepared to kill the dream for good.

Earlier this year, amid rampant speculation on the brand’s U.S. return, CEO Bernhard Maier claimed the automaker would make a decision sometime in 2017. The recently introduced Kodiaq SUV, which takes its name from an Alaskan island, was a sure-fire “home run” for the American market, he claimed.

After posting record sales in 2015, the brand’s low-priced cars were even seen as a possible replacement for certain Volkswagen models. Others claimed the two companies could never exist alongside each other. Those “others” now include top VW brass.

Speaking to Automobile, one senior VW board member stated, “We may be crazy, but we’re not mad.”

“Entering this huge market with an unknown brand, a model range focused on Europe, and a non-existent dealer network is pure suicide,” the board member said. “Furthermore, the last thing Volkswagen of America needs now is in-house cannibalization.”

In the U.S., the three-row Kodiaq SUV would compete directly with VW’s 2017 Atlas. After weathering a perfect financial storm with its diesel emissions scandal, VW’s U.S. turnaround hinges on the success of that model, as well as other crossover and SUV models targeted at American buyers. The frustration of Škoda’s parent isn’t hard to understand.

While the deliberation continues in the Czech Republic, it seems the verdict is already in.