Skoda Auto India is investing Rs 8,000 crore to increase the level of localisation of its cars and hopes to achieve annual sales of one lakh units by 2025.

The Czech brand, which has been in the country since 2001, currently sells 15,000 units in India annually.

“We have a multi-pronged strategy to build our business here and are fully geared to make it a success,” said Zac Hollis, director (sales and marketing), Skoda Auto India, in Calcutta on Wednesday.

The strategy includes manufacturing cars for the Indian market as well as selling products from its global portfolio as completely built units (CBUs).

The company is set to launch a five-seater SUV Karoq in India in April 2020 and will sell 200 units of the new Octavia RS on popular demand. Both the Karoq and the Octavia will be sold as CBUs.

“We will be showcasing the Karoq, the Octavia RS, the BS-VI Rapid and the new Superb FL in the 2020 Auto Expo,” said Hollis. The Karoq will be subsequently assembled in India after a year of its launch.

However, to appeal to a broader segment of customers, the Czech brand will be launching a mid-sized SUV on its sub-compact platform in 2021.

“With these products we hope to achieve the one-lakh sales target as part of our India 2.0 project,” said Hollis.

On compact SUVs dominating sales in India, Hollis said: “It is the most popular body style in India and we are responding to that demand.”