Executives confirmed that the car, marginally smaller than the current Octavia externally, but with more space inside, will remain extremely price competitive in the face of escalating prices from most other manufacturers.

The firm maintains that its position is to be a value, not fashion, proposition and so the new car will fit above Fabia and below Octavia. It recognises though that it has some work to do to explain its out-of-step sizing.

A Skoda executive told Fleet World: ‘Once the new Octavia is unveiled next year, it will all become clearer, because that car will increase in size, and so the range will make more sense. But until then, we will have to spend some time explaining how its fits in the market.’

The Rapid will come with two 1.2-litre petrol engines, a 1.4 TSI and a 1.6 diesel with the Greenline version offering CO2 emissions below 100g/km. Skoda has also hinted that base spec models will be better equipped than the current Octavia. The firm hopes to sell 6,000 units a year in the UK, a market which is showing record sales for the brand,

It is likely that prices will climb to nearly £18,000 for the top spec diesel, but this puts is in a significantly cheaper price bracket than competitors such as the Kia cee’d and Hyundai i30.