Skoda revvs up on Make-in-India to take on rivals

Giving further impetus to its Make-in-India plan, Skoda India, the local unit of Czech Republic-headquartered automaker on Thursday announced the launch of an upgraded version of its Rapid brand with local parts and engineering.

Apart from the general facelift efforts, the engine is made by Mahindra Engineering Sevices Ltd, say industry insiders. However, when asked, Skoda India management claimed that their policy does not allow them to reveal the name of their component or engineering part manufacturer.

“The new Rapid is an integral part of the model offensive strategy in India,” said Sudhir Rao, CMD, Skoda Auto India. The new upgraded model has a base price of Rs 8.35 lakh (ex-showroom Maharashtra) which goes up to Rs 12.67 lakh. The car will compete with competitors like Honda City, Volkswagen Vento, Maruti Suzuki’s Ciaz and Hyundai’s Verna.

As per the available statistics, the company at present sells around 15,000 units on an average per year. The company officials said that they would like to take that number to 20,000 units by 2020. “We expect the sales to jump by 30-40 % over this year with the introduction of new Rapid,” said Ashutosh Dixit, director - sales, service & marketing, Skoda Auto India.

When asked whether Skoda will get into taxi business like some of its competitors including the premium cars like BMWs and others, Dixit denied having any plans as such at present but added that the company may explore the opportunity in future.