Tag Archives: Skoda

buying a new car

Are you a tough motoring mother?

I grew up in an era where it was more a case of ‘who is the fairest of us all.’

But now ŠKODA is looking for ‘the toughest mum of all’ to add to the stresses of childcare, partnerships, home and work responsibilities…

Their 2017 Tough Mother competition is to promote the new Octavia Scout.

The winner is Ania Czerminska from Milton Keynes who took up powerlifting following her daughter’s diagnosis with a neuro-muscular condition. Ania’s hobby gives her the strength to lift her daughter and also inspired her career change to become a firefighter.

According to ŠKODA just over a third of mums in the UK take up new hobbies after giving birth in order to retain some independence including wakeboarding, rock climbing, BMX-ing and powerlifting.

Mums in Norwich are the most active apparently with more than half (52%) claiming they take part in one or more hobbies. This is closely followed by mums in Cardiff (48%), Manchester (42%) and Southampton (41%).

Ania, from Olney, Milton Keynes told us about a typical day in her life…

“I get up each morning at 5am so that I can be in the gym for 5.30am. I then head home to look after Maya and get her ready for school. I head off to the fire station for 9.30am where I work until 6pm. It’s important to have a good support system in place and Marcin and I work well as a team.”

Ania’s progress in powerlifting has seen her qualify for a number of upcoming competitions.

Other tough mums

Ania was short-listed alongside other tough mums Anita Wong, a BMX champion from Ealing in London and Shirin Shabestari, a mountaineer and rock climber from Lewisham in South East London.

All three were then filmed in the new ŠKODA Octavia Scout, said to be suited to the demands of family life and extreme sports because of its ability to transport large amounts of kit and reach remote locations.

It costs from £26,685 on-the-road.
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To see all of the ‘Tough Mother’ finalists’ stories visit www.ŠKODA.co.uk/Tough-Mother

To find out more about the new ŠKODA Octavia Scout visit www.ŠKODA.co.uk/models/new-octavia-scout

green motoring

Fiddled emissions whilst VW burns

VW 15921The VW share price is plummeting. Credibility of the many VW brands is affected. Perhaps their F1 ambitions have just gone up in smoke?

“We screwed up”, “we’ve been dishonest” and “we’re truly sorry” says their US CEO Michael Horn. But is that good enough?

Clearly the emissions scandal will run and run with lots of new whistleblowers adding to industry flames. VW Group testing software in the US appears to have been tinkered with resulting in certain diesel engines appearing to run cleaner than they really do – when tested by agencies appointed by manufacturers that is.

I’m relieved to read the SMMT (Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders) saying this couldn’t happen in the UK because of the EU’s independent testing regime. Let’s hope they’re right.

VW BoardInterestingly the main VW Board is all male. And what has the likes of McKinsey been telling us for years? That women matter because we bring ethical values, a collaborative approach and environmental awareness to Board room decisions. In short, where gender balance exists organisations are healthier from the point of view of finance and efficiency. This isn’t rocket science guys but it’s clear you weren’t listening to the gender message when you should have been.

It looks to me that the VW Board could do with female Executive Board Directors to teach them business values and ethics. They were too busy studying the wrong metrics – now see how this negligence affects their beloved balance sheet…
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But an equally worrying issue is surely, if the likes of main Board Directors at VW can be THIS unethical, no wonder the global motor industry suffers the image it does. Because it seems to be TRUE of the very top?

Will any of those male Directors held to account be replaced by women?

Let’s hope so but I’m not holding my breath…

Finally let’s hope this is a scandal purely involving the VW Group… but let’s not forget the potential reach – their prestigious brands include VW, Audi, Seat, Skoda, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini and Porsche.

How could this happen in such a family, unless high level individuals knew and condoned this… That’s shocking.

FOXY

@FOXYSteph

women

Calling all University students

A recent survey suggested that University students rarely considered the motor industry for their future career. Which I was disappointed to read, knowing how much this industry needs to recruit the top talent for its future. And to see that it is failing to appeal to women in the more traditional work areas not just manufacturing, design and motorsports.

And as one of the IMI’s network of Automotive Careers Champions I’m happy to do my bit to spread the word about an exciting job opportunity here, in the hope that more UK students will look more favourably on this industry than they might have done otherwise. And who can afford to ignore remarkable job offers like this one in today’s economic situation.

Which is why I’d like to encourage as many University students to enter a high profile industry competition to ‘win’ 5 months challenging work experience in the automotive industry plus £7500 in prize money. I’m talking about the 2011 Autocar-Courland Next Generation Award  which includes the chance to work for McLaren, Mercedes-Benz, Peugeot, Toyota and Skoda as well as a £7500 cash prize.

How impressive that will look on any CV – and the opportunity to be considered for a full time graduate appointment at the end of this period we’d hope.

“We are encouraging all students to look to the automotive world for their first step into the world of employment. The industry offers numerous and wide ranging opportunities for enthusiastic graduates – it’s innovative, inspiring and challenging. The industry is most definitely not just for the petrol head” explained Martin Bohling of Courland Automotive Practice.

UK University students are invited to respond to the following brief:

“Using your area of expertise, write a 500-word proposal suggesting some improvement (be it an invention, a legislative change, a change to corporate policy or the adoption of a new convention) which you believe would be a worthwhile benefit to the automotive business, on a small or large scale.”

Brief entries must be in by 28 August and are expected to be innovative, incisive and well communicated using diagrams and images to aid clarity. Twelve students will then be invited to an assessment day before the shortlist is produced. This stage allows each candidate to present their ideas to a panel of judges giving them added interview experience and feedback. The winner will be announced in November.

This is the third year of these Awards and it would be good to see a female winner for the first time. I can’t see why not, providing enough female students have heard of this Award in enough time to whet their appetite.

To find out about exciting career opportunities in the motor industry, please visit the Autocity website for background information

This is such a great opportunity for high flying students to make a real difference to our industry’s future, working alongside some of the leading players here.

FOXY

women

Heidi reaches a new high in Skoda

Skoda's Heidi Cartledge gets Head of Marketing jobHeidi Cartledge has been promoted to head of marketing at Škoda UK after a competitive recruitment process involving strong external candidates. Having held the role of national communications manager for the brand in 2010 no wonder she was so well placed to take on all Škoda brand and product marketing communications including media planning and buying, advertising, digital, retailer support, events and sponsorship.

Heidi started her marketing career with Royal Mail, moving on to an advertising agency and then to Volkswagen in 2003 as marketing communications manager before her move to Skoda.

She was responsible for overseeing Škoda UK’s biggest-ever marketing campaign; to produce the new version of the famous ‘Cake’ TV ad to launch the new Fabia vRS.

Škoda has committed to major growth plans in the UK during the next three years involving significant investment in marketing and brand communications. Robert Hazelwood, Škoda UK director, said: “We will be spending more to promote the Škoda brand in 2011 than any previous year in Škoda UK’s history.”

It’s encouraging to see a manufacturer leading others with such confidence in these difficult economic times. And to promote a female who has obvously got the drive to get to the top. Heidi you are a great role model for other female marketers to emulate and a likely force to be reckoned on when it comes to marketing to women.

FOXY

Find out here which FOXY Choice approved female friendly garages and dealerships employ Female Business Ambassadors in customer facing roles.

car dealerships, female friendly, women drivers

Woman’s evening, DM Keith, Huddersfield

Leading Skoda dealer DM Keith in Huddersfield is organising a women’s safety awareness evening tomorrow – Tuesday 22 September at their St Andrews Road branch – HD1 6NA.

This is called Women in Gear and includes a programme which is primarily for women drivers, covering personal safety, car maintenance and coping with road rage, all in a lighthearted and non-sales-oriented way.

Despite the name, men are more than welcome!!

These courses are such a good thing and also help women drivers spot the difference between female friendly dealerships and the rest.

If you can’t make the Tuesday then I understand there are other evenings planned at their Wakefield, Bradford and Leeds branches.

For more information about this and other similar safety awareness courses for women drivers please contact 01992 503129 or email maralyn@avfcommunications.eclipse.co.uk.

FOXY