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The Skoda hatchback outsold 76 to one by the Toyota Corolla could soon meet its end to clear the way for new electric vehicles.
A decision on the future of the slow-selling Skoda Scala hatchback in Australia is "slowly progressing", as sales slump to a new full-year low.
The Scala was absent from a recent presentation to Australian media on Skoda's local model line-up, adding weight to earlier speculation that it will be dropped from the line-up.
"It's a subject of our current analysis and consideration," Skoda Australia director Lucie Kuhn told Drive, of the Scala's future.
Asked if analysis has progressed in recent months, after telling Drive in September that it could be dropped: "It's slowly progressing to the final decision."
The executive would not be drawn on how long is left for the Scala, of which just 249 were reported as sold last year – down from 416 in 2024, and its lowest full-year result since arriving in 2020.
In contrast, Toyota sold 18,968 Corollas last year – 13,081 of which were regular hatchbacks, rather than sedans or GR performance specials – while Volkswagen reported 3047 Golf sales.
It has found surprising – though still modest – success with rental-car fleets, which accounted for 48.6 per cent of Scala deliveries in 2024, a higher share than any other model.
The figure dropped to 33.7 per cent in 2025, still the highest of any car that sold more than 10 cars in total.
Far more secure is the future of the smaller Fabia city hatch, which reported 333 sales last year, but grew by 0.6 per cent while the Skoda brand declined by 4.1 per cent.
Kuhn said there is room to grow Fabia sales, despite the popularity of city hatchbacks declining by 20.4 per cent last year to just 24,826 examples – half the annual sales of the Toyota HiLux alone.
"I think actually Fabia is a little bit [of an] underestimated model, because it's already a pretty big car in size, considering the fact that it's an A0 car [Skoda-speak for its city-car platform].
"I feel it has a better potential, I think. We still need to work a little bit on it.
"The fact is, though, that the segment is getting smaller in this area, so it's becoming harder a little bit to make this car really appealing and interesting for the customers when you have year-on-year 15 per cent growth in the SUV segment."
Alex Misoyannis has been writing about cars since 2017, when he started his own website, Redline. He contributed for Drive in 2018, before joining CarAdvice in 2019, becoming a regular contributing journalist within the news team in 2020. Cars have played a central role throughout Alex’s life, from flicking through car magazines at a young age, to growing up around performance vehicles in a car-loving family. Highly Commended - Young Writer of the Year 2024 (Under 30) Rising Star Journalist, 2024 Winner Scoop of The Year - 2024 Winner
