The premium Czech car-maker Skoda Auto, which today launched its maiden 7-seater SUV Kodiaq, priced at Rs 34,49,501, said it is planning to play it big in the volume segment here.
The company also said it expects to sell at least 1,000 units of the new car in the first year.
Skoda, owned by the German auto giant Volkswagen, currently sells three models, all premium sedans - the Rapid, Superb and the Octavia and their variants in the country.
The new flagship offering will compete with the likes of Toyota Fortuner, Ford Endeavour and Isuzu MU-X as well as Volkswagen Tiguan.
"India plays an important role in our strategy. This market will be of significant importance to our global growth strategy 2025. As part of this, we are planning to enter the volume segment here," Skoda Auto board member and finance head Klaus-Dieter Schurmann said at the launch.
The company will be using the MQB AO platform for its volume play, which is the entry-level platform in the Volkswagen group, Schurmann said adding, "However, a final decision is not yet taken."
Terming the Kodiaq as a "real game changer," Schurmann said, "in the first half of the current calender year, Skoda India sold 7,900 units, registering a growth of 22 per cent."
This growth has come on the back of the launch of the updated versions of its best-selling sedan, Rapid, last November as well as the racing variant of it successful Octavia, called the Octavia RS 230 last month.
"This year, we are on a good track here to improve our sales," he added.
Assembled at the company's Aurangabad manufacturing facility as a CKD, the Kodiaq comes with a 2-litre diesel engine and a host of features like nine airbags even in the base model and four years warranty.
The bookings are open from today while the deliveries will commence from the first week of next month, Skoda Auto India director for sales and marketing, Ashutosh Dixit, said, adding that the company expects to sell 1,000 units of Kodiaq here.
"During the past 18 months, we have launched new Superb new Rapid and Octavia RS 230. As a result of this consistent strategic approach, we have so far grown by 29 per cent and we would finish the year even stronger with a growth of 34 per cent with an expected total vehicle sale of 17,500 units, " Dixit said.
On the volumes of the Octavia RS launched early last month, he told PTI that the car is already sold out with selling the entire 150 units allocated for India and now it is taking bookings for February delivery.
Skoda had also launched its compact SUV Yeti in the Indian market, which it has discontinued now.
Dixit said that Skoda is aiming to have 75 dealerships by March as against 68 now, which have seen an investment of Rs 100 crore.
"We've invested Rs 100 crore along with our dealership partners in setting up the 68 outlets. We want to grow it to 75 by the end of the next quarter," he said.
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