Skoda Octavia and Superb: possible merger, Vision O size and future plans

© A. Krivonosov

Octavia and Superb together accounted for almost a quarter of Skoda's global deliveries in the first half of 2026, yet in the longer term the two separate families could become one. Skoda CEO Klaus Zellmer told Autocar that the company is studying exactly such a scenario as Volkswagen Group prepares a major reduction in its model range.

At first glance, the idea looks paradoxical. From January to June, Skoda delivered 96,500 Octavias and another 35,300 Superbs to customers. That is 131,800 cars, or about 24% of the brand's total 555,700 deliveries. Octavia remains Skoda's best-selling model worldwide.

The issue is not today's demand, but how the company sees the market in the next decade. According to Zellmer, the sedan, liftback and estate segments are no longer growing. At the same time, the new SSP architecture can underpin a car as large as a Superb. Skoda is therefore deciding whether it really needs two closely related families or whether one model could cover both groups of customers.

There is already a reference point for such a compromise. The Vision O concept is 4,850 mm long. The current Octavia measures 4,698 mm, while the Superb is 4,912 mm as a liftback and 4,902 mm as a Combi. Vision O therefore sits almost exactly between them in size as well as in concept.

The reduction is not a standalone Skoda initiative. Volkswagen Group has formally approved a plan to cut the number of models by roughly half by 2035 and reduce offer complexity by around 75%. The group wants to increase production volume per remaining model, reduce parallel development work and standardise platforms, electronics and software more aggressively.

It is still too early to say that Superb has received a death sentence. Zellmer has not announced the model's discontinuation. Skoda is comparing two options: keep separate successors to Octavia and Superb, or create one car capable of covering both segments.