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The Bombay High Court on Monday expressed "prime facie" dissatisfaction with Skoda Auto Volkswagen India's arguments against a USD 1.4 billion notice from the Customs department. The HC also commended a department officer for his dedicated efforts and thorough research prior to issuing the notice. "Prima facie, we are not satisfied with your (Skoda Auto Volkswagen India) argument. This is only prima facie," a division bench of Justices B P Colabawalla and Firdosh Pooniwalla said. "To entertain such a plea at the stage of show cause notice is something you have to convince us. This is troubling us whether we should entertain the plea at the stage of show cause notice," it added. The notice claimed the German group, led in the country by Skoda Auto Volkswagen India, allegedly provided misleading information to the department by misclassifying its imports of Audi, Skoda and Volkswagen cars as "individual parts" instead of "Completely Knocked Down" (CKD) units, thereby paying ...
India is the most important market globally for Skoda after Europe and the region is helping the automaker to enhance its presence in regional markets like ASEAN and the Middle East, Skoda Auto CEO Klaus Zellmer said on Thursday. Skoda Auto entered the Indian market in January 2000 with the company laying the foundation stone for its plant in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (formerly Aurangabad). "We have built on 25 years of experience in India to make this thriving market the cornerstone of our international growth strategy," Zellmer said in a statement. With its tremendous talent pool, growing consumer demand, and access to other markets, India is becoming the Czech carmaker's second pillar outside Europe and helping leverage further sales potential in ASEAN, the Middle East, and the Indo-Pacific region, he added. On behalf of the Volkswagen Group, Skoda Auto has been spearheading all activities in India since 2018. "As the company celebrates 25 years in the country, the Group's focu
A long-term perspective on tax structure for different automotive technologies in India would aid the industry in product development which takes a lot of time and investment, according to Skoda Auto India Volkswagen MD and CEO Piyush Arora. Skoda Auto Volkswagen India Pvt Ltd (SAVWIPL) oversees the India operations of five Volkswagen Group brands - Skoda, Volkswagen, Audi, Porsche and Lamborghini. In an interaction with PTI, Arora said the government is taking steps in terms of both demand creation and tax structure standpoints to promote electric mobility. "From our point of view, a long-term vision on how the tax structures would be there for different technologies would be helpful for the industry because product development cycles are extremely long and there is also high amount of investment which goes into it. So if we have a longer perspective in terms of duties it would help," he stated. He was replying to a query regarding the industry wishlist in the upcoming Union ...
Skoda Auto Volkswagen India on Monday said it is in discussions with a potential partner regarding possible collaboration in India, refuting speculation that it has halted the process of finding a local collaborator after the investigation over alleged customs duty fraud. The company, which is leading the German automotive group Volkswagen's India operations, asserted that finding a local partner in India and the show cause notice by authorities for alleged customs duty fraud to the tune of Rs 11,000 crore (about USD 1.4 billion) over import of cars as completely knocked down units, are completely separate and unrelated. "To fully explore the country's growth potential, we are always considering new business opportunities and are evaluating various options to ensure the best possible solution to implement our strategy in the highly dynamic Indian market. We are currently in discussions with a potential partner regarding possible collaboration," Skoda Auto Volkswagen India said in a .
Czech automaker Skoda is eyeing considerable increase in sales next year riding on the back of its latest offering Kylaq, which marks its entry into the high-selling compact SUV segment. The company is eyeing gains in smaller cities and towns with the new model which is tagged between Rs 7.89 lakh and Rs 14.4 lakh (ex-showroom). "It's a beginning of a new era for Skoda, because with this car, we are becoming a true volume player in India," Skoda Auto India Brand Director Petr Janeba told PTI in an interaction. He noted that Kylaq will further its goal of entering new markets, bringing new customers into the Skoda family and strengthening brand presence in India. When asked about sales aspirations with a new model joining the portfolio, Janeba said the company expects to close 2024 with a total volume of around 40,000 units. "Next year we are looking at 2.5-3 times growth in the volumes aided by Kylaq," he stated. The company has commenced bookings of the model with deliveries exp
Czech firm Skoda Auto on Wednesday said India is the most promising growth market and a key contributor as a future export hub in its global expansion plans. Speaking at the global premiere of its first sub-four meter SUV, Kylaq, here, Skoda Auto CEO Klaus Zellmer also said India's domestic potential as the world's third-largest car market is huge and the introduction of a new model in the domestic market will help Skoda achieve its target of selling 10,000 cars annually by 2026. Priced at Rs 7.89 lakh, bookings for the compact SUV will open from December 2 while deliveries will commence from January 27 next year, the company announced. "For Skoda, India is really (an) important (market). Europe is the key market but the strategic focus for Skoda is to build a broader international foundation, which is based on the principle of having two strong pillars. And India, clearly, is our second pillar that we want to build outside Europe," said Klaus. At the start of this year, the compan
Czech car maker Skoda is lining up new models, expanding sales network and also looking to forge partnerships to scale up business in India, the most important market for the brand outside Europe, according to global CEO Klaus Zellmer. The company, which currently sells models like Kushaq and Slavia in the country, aims to drive in an all-new compact SUV early next year hoping to almost double its sales volume in the market. Skoda Auto India sold around 49,000 units last year. India is the world's third-largest passenger vehicle market with annual dispatches surging to 42 lakh units in FY24. The automaker, a part of the Volkswagen Group, is also looking to introduce electric vehicles in the country. In an interaction here, Skoda Auto global CEO Klaus Zellmer said the automaker is willing to learn and be totally customer-centric as it considers India as the most important market for the brand after Europe. "Outside Europe, our most important adventure is India because this is the p