The upcoming model will play a crucial role in the Volkswagen Group brand’s target to cross the 100,000 unit a year sales milestone by 2026 and attain 5% market share by end of the decade. Skoda Auto India sold 48,755 vehicles in 2023 after record sales of 53,721 units in 2022.
“One needs to improve with every product launch, nobody is perfect. We probably need to bring much more features in the car like a 360-degree camera, panoramic sunroof, advanced driver assistance systems–many of these have now become standard. There’s also a lot of homework to be done,” said Janeba, who joined the Indian operations last month.
He said Skoda will need to undertake some brand building initiatives as the company enters the C-SUV segment. This is to ensure the model’s visibility and consumer awareness. The company is planning to enhance its network in tier-3 and 4 cities as a run up to the launch. Presently, it has a pan-India network of 260 dealers, majority of whom are in metros and tier-1 cities.
The compact SUV and electric vehicle launches are part of Skoda’s next phase of investment in India, Klaus Zellmer, CEO, Skoda Auto, said in the statement. The new investment will not only lead to a 30% expansion of production capacity but also expand the addressable market for the brand to 50-60% of India’s fast-growing passenger vehicle market, he said.
The C-SUV will be the third model to be built on the company’s India-specific MQB A0 platform after Skoda Kushaq (mid-size SUV) and Kodiaq (premium SUV) in 2021 and 2022 respectively.Given that the new C-SUV model will be targeted at value-conscious Indian buyers in metros as well as smaller towns and cities, Skoda plans to work closely with dealer partners to create brand awareness. The new model will be pitted against models like Maruti Brezza, Kia Sonet, and Tata Nexon, costing between Rs8 lakh to Rs15 lakh. Every second SUV sold in the domestic market belongs to the compact SUV segment.Janeba admitted that Skoda needs to “innovate faster” and engage in more frequent product interventions by launching facelifts, special editions, etc to keep buyer interest sustained for the “novelty seeking” Indian consumers.
On re-introducing premium sedans Octavia and Superb, Janeba said both the models will be launched in India. Skoda is currently weighing the powertrain options as the current 2.5 litre engine that powers the Octavia is not the best one, he said.