[bantic]

The production version of the Roomster is unlikely to feature the concept's asymmetric layout (one door on one side, two on the other), though it's likely to be a little more conventional than the show car. The basic proposition will remain the same, however: a boxy, utilitarian family vehicle designed for maximum interior space and versatility, albeit with all the neat, smart styling we've come to expect from a modern Skoda. The production car may not take the Roomster name, either, but no alternative has yet been decided.

The Roomster will share its underpinnings with other Volkswagen Group products, but Skoda is keen to emphasise that it is not just following a badge-engineering strategy these days. With the opening of its own dedicated engineering centre at Mlada Boleslav five years ago, it can now do much more brand-specific development, and it is also contributing its own homegrown technology for use elsewhere in the VW empire, such as the three-cylinder engines used in the Polo, Fox and other models. The VW platform-engineering programmes are now also based much more on common modules, rather than the re-purposing of whole structures, allowing for more of a mix-and-match approach and for a wider variety of permutations around the same basic units. The Roomster won't just be a re-badged Seat Altea, for example.

Further into the future, the underpinnings for the Roomster could also be used, however, for a new small family car. Although the Fabia is one of the larger superminis in its sector, there is a large gap in the range between that and the Octavia, meaning that since the demise of the Felicia, Skoda has no direct competitor to the likes of the hugely-popular Focus, Astra and, indeed, the Golf. Skoda has not indicated that it is working on such a car, however, and also says that there are no plans for an entry-level city car similar to the Volkswagen Fox: the company intends to focus on family-orientated cars.

No decision has been yet made, either, on production of a compact 4x4 or 4x4-alike based on the Yeti concept seen at this year's Geneva Motor Show, though such a model could also share its underpinnings with the Roomster, and it is said to be "under serious consideration", as the reaction received in Geneva was very positive.

Skoda has enjoyed rising sales in recent years, with an output of 450,000 cars last year, including some 36,000 in the UK. The company is aiming for 40,000 cars in the UK this year, and is already ahead of schedule to achieve this; expanding into new sectors such as MPVs and, perhaps, 4x4s is expected to help towards continued upwards trends in coming years. Skoda is planning to make 500,000 cars a year in the near future, with 700,000 a year a further objective. Its future looks assured, arguably for the most secure period in its 100-year history.