New Delhi: Czech carmaker Skoda Auto India is targeting to grow in double digits in fiscal 2023-24. The company, which sells the Slavia, Kushaq and Kodiaq models, crossed the 50,000 unit sales mark in India last year.
“This year, we want to make sure that our cars are well established in the Indian market with not only our existing customers, but also with new customers. The passenger vehicle industry will grow further this year, and we expect to grow our brand in double digits,” Petr Solc, Brand Director, Skoda India, told ETAuto.
The automaker introduced its India 2.0 strategy in 2018 to invest EUR 1 billion between 2019 and 2021. Under this, the company locally manufactured two models- Slavia sedan and Kushaq SUV- on its MQB platform.
Product Line-up
Skoda aims to introduce more products within the next 2-3 years. Next in line is the Superb sedan to be launched by the end of CY2023. Superb, which was discontinued in March 2023, will be introduced with compliance to BS-VI Phase-II emission norms in the country.
Solc said that a new-gen Superb was recently launched in Europe and the company is “studying the feasibility of bringing it to India.”
The carmaker has also discontinued the Octavia sedan. “Octavia was the bread and butter for the Skoda brand. We are working on the feasibility of bringing it. We are yet to finalise if it will come as Octavia RS,” he said.
An important aspect of Skoda’s product strategy is the introduction of special edition models of its existing portfolio. Lately, the carmaker brought in the Monte Carlo edition, Anniversary edition and the Lava Blue edition.
“Special edition models contribute to about 25% to 30% of Skoda’s global sales volumes,” Solc said.
Going forward, the company plans to “bring a new special edition of its models every quarter” in India. It may consider launching the Lava Blue edition or something in the matte finish.
Skoda is focused on expanding the product lineup in the sedan and the SUV segments. “The sedan segment has limited products, which can contribute to solid volumes for us. The SUV potential is also not fully saturated in the market yet. So we are working on expanding and extending our product portfolio in these segments.”
In accordance with India’s move towards flex fuels and government’s mandated phased rollout of 20% ethanol blending with petrol from April 2023, the company’s Slavia and the Kushaq are now E-20 compliant.
EV foray by end of FY24
Skoda plans to enter the electric vehicle (EV) market in India with its Enyaq electric SUV towards the end of the FY 2023-24. The carmaker has already imported a few units of the model for its internal testing in India and plans to bring about 100 units to the market in the initial phase of the launch.
Globally, the Enyaq iV made its debut in 2022 as the first product under the Volkswagen Group’s Modular Electrification (MEB) platform. It is also being exported to some overseas markets.
In April 2023, Skoda also announced its plans to launch six EVs globally by 2026. While some of these may see their entry in the country, the company is currently evaluating the feasibility of localising the future EV models in India. Solc noted that depending on the infrastructure development, government support and incentives, the Indian market has the potential “to grow to 30% within the next 10 years.”
While the transformation from ICE to EVs happens, Skoda aims to have “a wide portfolio of the ICE models as well- the right combination of both.”
Growth in Tier-II, III
With products like Octavia, Superb and the Rapid, Skoda had predominantly been focused on the metro cities. With the Kushaq and the Slavia, Solc said it intends to target the Tier-2,3 cities.
“In the future, we want to balance and contribute an equal share in metro and non-metro cities. By 2024, we would like to grow our network size by 20%-25%.” Currently, the carmaker has 225 touchpoints in the country.
While the company’s global expansion also depends on the economic factors, it is confident that about 10% share of the global sales will come from India by 2025. Currently, India contributes 7% to Skoda’s global sales and is the third largest market for the company, after Germany and the Czech Republic.
Export
Skoda exports its vehicles from India to the Middle East and North Africa. “In future, we will expand to ASEAN and Vietnam, where Vietnam will contribute a significant portion of exports,” Solc said.
The sister brand Volkswagen is exporting vehicles to Mexico and South Africa, where Skoda is not present.
Since the EV penetration is higher in certain regions than in India, Skoda sees India becoming an export hub of ICE vehicles for regions, like ASEAN, Middle East or North Africa.
