 "Petr Janeba, Brand director, Škoda Auto India")
As Skoda Auto India eyes 100,000 units annual sales in the country by 2026, the company is all set to bring in a new car in the compact sports utility vehicle (SUV) segment by the first half of 2025.
The European auto major is eyeing a 5 per cent share in the Indian passenger vehicle (PV) market by 2030 for its Volkswagen family of brands. Skoda India produced 48,000 units in 2023.
Petr Janeba, brand director, Skoda Auto India, told Business Standard that it also plans to bring four electric vehicles (EVs) into India over the next few years. He added that there are several alternatives on the table for the EV game plan in India.
“Of the six EVs (announced globally), we definitely want to bring four to India. Of this, the biggest one will be a seven-seater EV from Europe and the smallest one a completely-knocked-down (CKD) unit manufactured in Chakan, Pune. and two other cars would be parts and components cars.”
Meanwhile, the Enyaq, a popular EV in Europe, is also being tested in India. “The Enyaq is probably too big to be localised. It is our most successful EV globally. We have tried to test this in India, and let's see what the response is from the Indian customer. It is about the right timing on when we need to bring the car to the country,” Janeba said.
Skoda is also waiting for more clarity on government regulations on EVs.
More From This Section
Meanwhile, the compact SUV, slated for 2025, will be positioned against the Maruti Brezza, Hyundai Venue and Kia Sonet, and would be competitively priced, a senior company official said. Skoda will also export the car to right-hand-drive markets like Australia, New Zealand and Asean nations, among others.
Maruti Brezza is priced around Rs 8.34-14.14 lakh. Hyundai Venue, a 5-seater compact SUV, is priced from Rs 7.94 lakh to Rs 13.48 lakh. And, Kia Sonet carries a price tag of Rs 7.99-15.69 lakh.
Janeba said sub-four meter SUVs were 63 per cent of the total market (of PVs) last year. And hence, Skoda could not miss out on this segment.
“We are eyeing volumes, and so, we will have competitive pricing. Brezza, Venue and Sonet are our competition in this segment for this car,” Janeba said.
With this compact SUV, Skoda’s addressable market in India increases significantly.
“Currently, our addressable market is sub-27 per cent or so (of the overall PVs), and with this addition, it would go up by at least 50 per cent or so. Therefore, we would be able to address 80 per cent of all new car buyers in India,” Janeba said.
The upcoming compact SUV would be based on the MQB-A0-IN platform that was developed and localised specifically in India for India. The Kushaq and this sub-compact sedan share the same platform.
This car will have a slightly smaller wheelbase, and it will have good interior space compared to competition, Janeba claimed.
“This segment is competitive and crowded, and we need to find our own customers,” he added.
The company is expanding the capacity at its Chakan plant by around 30 per cent. The investments for this car are not finalised yet as all suppliers are not finalised.
It will be done by October-November this year.
As for exports, Janeba said, “A lot of countries are asking for this car. We would start with right-hand-drive markets — Australia, New Zealand, Asean countries and Africa (which may even have a local assembly plant). We are not looking at Latin America for exporting this car at the moment as it’s not a right-hand-drive market.”
Skoda, however, will first serve the domestic local demand and then focus on exports. Exports would thus not start before October 2025.
Klaus Zellmer, CEO, Skoda Auto a.s, said, “India is crucial to the global growth of Skoda Auto, both because of its own market strength and as a development and manufacturing base for our expansion in new markets. We have more than doubled sales in India since 2021. We are now taking the next step by expanding the range of models designed for customers in India and internationally.”
Zellmar added that the new compact-SUV will add an important segment to customers.
“I’m confident the expanding Skoda portfolio will contribute to our India growth target of achieving a market share for the Volkswagen family of brands of around 5 per cent by 2030,” he said.
