Skoda India hopes to sell 3,000 units every month and 30,000 units a year of its new sedan Slavia.
The Czech company, which sells premium sedans such as the Octavia, Laura and Superb, believes the sedan market can grow providing there are exciting products. It launched a mid-size SUV Kushaq this year as part of its India 2.0 programme where it is bringing fresh, new products built on a localised platform.
“India is a significant partner in Skoda Strategy 2030.
We have a line-up of strong products for India. The first of the four products for 2021 was the Kushaq, which has
ushered in a new phase of growth. We hope the Skoda Slavia, which is affordable and offers space and tech will be successful too,” said Thomas Schafaer, CEO of Skoda Auto.
The company has posted triple digit growth in sales and is approaching 2 per cent market share, Zac Hollis, director ( sales, service and marketing), Skoda Auto India told The Telegraph.
“There has been a 300 per cent growth in sales in September compared with September 2020,” he said. Asked if the sedan segment was contracting, Hollis said: “The reason for that is there are no interesting products and not that people aren’t interested. There are a number of exciting products in the SUV segment and that is the reason why it is growing.”
The Octavia, which was launched 21 years ago, has a 40 per cent market share while the Superb has a 30 per cent market share. The company will be discontinuing the Rapid, its entry sedan in India. Talking about Kushaq’s success, Hollis said: “We have 20,000 bookings in India. We are delivering 2000 to 3000 cars per month.”
Asked if the company plans to bring back its hatchback Fabia, a new generation of which will be in the global portfolio, Hollis said: “We are looking at every body style. With a versatile platform at our disposal we can build anything.”
Asked if the semi-conductor issue is a damper in its growth, Hollis said: “The semi-conductor crunch will affect us. Hopefully, it will be resolved by the middle of next year. The Volkswagen Group is giving us priority in supply since India is a launch market.”
