Speaking with The Economic Times, Skoda India has confirmed that it is working to develop an “India-specific” compact car. The sub-4 segment in the country has seen impressive growth as compared to the other segments in the motor industry. The reason is the lower excise duty imposed on these cars making them less expensive to own.
Skoda did not elaborate on this new development but it is expected that the new compact will share platform with now-discontinued Fabia hatch and the popular sedan Rapid.
Skoda has been seeing reduced total sales volume in the last fiscal and is restructuring its operations and is working out a strategy to strengthen Skoda’s image in the public eye.
The under-4-meter segment is a hard nut to crack for any motor manufacturer as the buyer expectations of looks, space, fuel consumption, and features need to be adapted for the small overall length of the vehicle. However, anybody who is somebody in the motor manufacturing industry has already developed or is in the process of developing vehicles for this particular segment.
For now, the market acceptance of new Octavia is keeping the tellers at Skoda working, but the company would like to add to its portfolio something more pervasive than the current brands of expensive vehicles it has on offer. The compact sedan might just do the trick if Skoda gets it out sooner and with a price point where majority of its potential buyers are present.
Can we expect the unveiling and the launch by Diwali this year, Skoda?
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I live in Australia and always interested in vehicles sold in India. I had a Skoda actually several in the 1960 & 1970’s. They were much different from todays offerings. I feel that they cost too much because they are owned by VW.