Skoda Likely To Launch A Hyundai Venue Rival Soon
In the long run, Skoda will have to bring in new products placed under the Rapid. However, they will not go in too deep in the sub-Rs10 lakh space
Czech carmaker Skoda will be adding two new products to its India lineup by 2022. The two new cars will be a part of Volkswagen Group’s ‘India 2.0’ growth plan and while one will be a Hyundai Creta rival (it could be called Kamiq), the other will be the next-gen Rapid sedan. Both cars will be based on the MQB A0-IN, which Skoda is localising for the Indian market.
Volkswagen will follow the same path as Skoda and launch two new cars - the T-Roc SUV and the next-gen Vento sedan. So it’s safe to say that both of them will be very similar to their Skoda counterparts.
The VW Group is looking to make the most of the modularity and localisation of the MQB A0-IN platform by evaluating all the cars they can build on it. In an interview with CarDekho, Zac Hollis, Head of Sales, Service & Marketing at Škoda India, said, “..in terms of product pipeline, obviously, the first two products we plan to bring under the India 2.0 growth plan will be the mid-size [Creta rival] SUV and a notchback as well. These are the first two cars. After that, we're looking at where we can go from there. There's lots of discussions going on. Should we go take the sub-4 metre route or should we get something bigger? So there's lots of strategic discussions going on.”
However, according to our understanding, the VW Group can’t stretch the MQB A0-IN platform to make cars longer than 4.4 metres. This was confirmed by Gurpratap Boparai, VW Group’s Head of Indian operations. However, the platform can accommodate sub-4 metre cars. Thus, Skoda will have to offer new cars that are similar in size to the Rapid and Creta-rival, or smaller than them.
The sub-4 metre SUV will not launch in 2022 as expected earlier as Skoda has the new generation Rapid launch planned for then. Skoda could, however, reveal it in 2022 and launch it the following year. In India, the sub-4 metre SUV segment has high sales volumes. With the Hyundai Venue soon to be launched in India, this segment will only grow in size. Thus, it makes sense for VW and Skoda to have a presence in it.
Currently, Maruti is the leader in this space with the Vitara Brezza. There are other competitors like the Tata Nexon, Ford EcoSport, Mahindra XUV300 and the Honda WR-V in the segment. Renault also plans to enter this space in 2020 with a car codenamed the RBC. A sub-4 metre Jeep SUV is also expected to arrive in 2021. And in 2022, Toyota plans to start manufacturing their version of the Vitara Brezza.
As far as Skoda is concerned, expect the SUV to borrow elements from other products in their lineup, and carry a nameplate starting with the letter ‘K’ and ending with ‘Q’. Are you excited for Skoda’s sub-4 metre SUV? Let us know in the comments below.Trending News
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