Skoda preparing to grow big in the Indian SUV market

Czech automaker, Skoda has been a premium player in the Indian car market and is now looking to increase its footprint in the country. India is a highly potential car market and a vast one. The Indian auto industry has not only grown and matured rapidly over the past few years, but its luxury car segment has also witnessed tremendous growth. This has ensured the increased focus from the luxury car makers’ focus on the Indian market. Skoda however, has never been able to be very successful in terms of sales in India. Neither it offers mass market products like Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai, nor is it as luxurious as the German luxury auto trio – Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz. Thus, Skoda as a premium auto maker is rather stuck in between. Nevertheless, Skoda is now trying to take advantage on its in-between positioning in India and grow as a more affordable luxury vehicle maker. It is considering expanding its portfolio in the Indian car market with its parent company Volkswagen’s initiative.

Czech automaker, Skoda has been a premium player in the Indian car market and is now looking to increase its footprint in the country. India is a highly potential car market and a vast one. The Indian auto industry has not only grown and matured rapidly over the past few years, but its luxury car segment has also witnessed tremendous growth. This has ensured the increased focus from the luxury car makers’ focus on the Indian market. Skoda however, has never been able to be very successful in terms of sales in India. Neither it offers mass market products like Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai, nor is it as luxurious as the German luxury auto trio – Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz. Thus, Skoda as a premium auto maker is rather stuck in between. Nevertheless, Skoda is now trying to take advantage on its in-between positioning in India and grow as a more affordable luxury vehicle maker. It is considering expanding its portfolio in the Indian car market with its parent company Volkswagen’s initiative.

Skoda is already an established name as a premium sedan maker in India, and now it is eyeing on the SUV market of India which is incredibly popular and one of the hottest spaces in the Indian auto industry. Skoda Auto India is planning to create offer such a portfolio that will increase its popularity as a premium automaker in India which offers better value. SUVs will certainly be a big part of this of the company. Moreover, considering the high demands of SUVs, Skoda is also considering to launch SUV and crossover models across all these SUV segments in India.

Skoda has just launched its first full-size 7-seater Kodiaq SUV in India on 4th of October, 2017. The new Skoda Kodiaq has come to India in a single trim, priced at Rs. 34.49 lakhs ex-showroom, across India. The Kodiaq wishes to be an alternative to the likes of the premium Toyota Fortuner and Ford Endeavour on one hand, and on the other aims to divert buyers of the luxury SUVs like the Mercedes-Benz GLC, Land Rover Discovery and BMW X3.

Skoda is also studying the Indian market to bring in its new Karoq SUV, which is a global successor of the Yeti, which has been long discontinued in India. Moreover, there’s rumour that the Czech brand is developing a compact crossover based on the Karoq, which could well make its way to India in future.

Skoda is also exploring the idea of entering the mainstream SUV market of India in the future and go up against the likes of the highly popular Hyundai Creta compact SUV and the Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza sub-compact SUV. The speculated crossover model could be the one meant for the mainstream Indian SUV market.

Moreover, Skoda has decided to also offer mass market products in India, as its parent company Volkswagen Group has given it responsibility to develop an Eco-Car platform for India and similar developing markets. SUVs are likely to be a major part of Skoda’s plan to expand in the Indian mass market.