A large and powerful SUV with a protective nature, a strong sense of family and a high degree of outdoor expertise – what should the new model from ŠKODA, which debuts in the second half of the year, be called? There has been a lot of speculation – now it is official. The new SUV from the Czech Republic receives a name which is strong like a bear: Kodiaq. In the language of the native people, this is not only the name of their Alaskan island, but also the world’s largest brown bear.
The Kodiak bear population, which numbers approximately 3,500, lives on Kodiak Island off the southern coast of Alaska. From Europe, it takes about ten hours to fly to the state’s largest city, Anchorage, and from there it is another 650 km to the island in the Gulf of Alaska. Kodiak Island is roughly the size of Corsica and the Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge, home of the famous bears, covers most of the island. The island is a paradise of outstanding beauty – rugged mountains, narrow fjords, hidden lakes and huge forests shape the landscape. This creates the ideal terrain for an SUV such as the new ŠKODA Kodiaq – here it can proves its qualities, power and suitability for daily use under the harshest of conditions.
ŠKODA has extensively researched life on Kodiak Island and the language of the native people, the Alutiiq. They call the Kodiak bear Taq uka ‘aq – the letter ‘q’ at the end is typical for the names of animals. ŠKODA has adopted the letter for the new SUV’s model name, thereby demonstrating its respect for the language of the Alutiiq. At the same time, the ‘q’ creates a very unique and distinctive name.
The Alaskan island’s authorities supported ŠKODA’s extensive marketing campaign. For the ŠKODA Kodiaq communications launch, they generously gave the go-ahead for an unusual event – last Friday, numerous residents changed and pasted over names on street signs, police cars, fire engines, fishing boats and advertising boards. Even on the town’s official homepage, the ‘k’ changed to a ‘q’ to celebrate this unusual name day. A ŠKODA film crew has documented the renaming and recorded the humour and enthusiasm of the town’s population who took part – from the mayor and the sheriff to the lumberjack.
160509 Town on island off the coast of Alaska renamed – ‘Kodiak’ became ‘Kodiaq’ for one day
