[TaurusSHO]

Originally Posted by hareshjethwani

Found this on YouTube.
Not sure how authentic it is.
But the car in the end of the ad is a kodiaq?
https://Youtu.be/39EZWbK3Kas

Not authentic at all.
At 0:14, that's an XUV500.

[ashvek3141]

Originally Posted by k_ajay

I found this and it appears, Skoda is going to focus on and go all-in on Kushaq's success. No KAROQ returning for India, at the moment, per this tweet. [unlike VW T-Roc].

IIRC, in one of the interviews on Autocar, he mentioned the plans of locally assembling the Karoq which will help to bring the costs down.

Probably the plan is to switch from CBU to CKD route & this will happen once the Kushaq is launched in India.

My best guess is that they’ll start focussing on this maybe late ‘21 or early ‘22.

[WhiteFang]

Powerdrift's interview with Zac Hollis. I'm loving their 'Meet the leaders' series and honestly I can't wait for March 18th. Skoda is really trying their best to get foot right with Kushaq.

https://youtu.be/xe_XSsKYAIE

[udaikalra01]

A really fun interview of Zac Hollis by Rohan and Kartikeya from Powerdrift.

Some major highlights:
-New Octavia to be launched before Kushaq
-Kushaq price announcement in May-June
-VW Group has invested a billion euros in India, for 4 products. 2 from VW, 2 from Skoda.
-Kushaq to be the best driving, one of the safest SUVs in the market.
-No electric car plans as of now. Zac thinks that the market is not mature enough. He doesn't see electric cars to be mass market products in the next five years in India.

[TaurusSHO]

Originally Posted by WhiteFang

Powerdrift's interview with Zac Hollis. I'm loving their 'Meet the leaders' series and honestly I can't wait for March 18th. Skoda is really trying their best to get foot right with Kushaq.

https://Youtu.be/xe_XSsKYAIE

Absolutely loved the interview! He's so passionate about his role and is equally as excited as we all are for the Kushaq. I hope they get everything right with this and going forward.

Originally Posted by udaikalra01

Some major highlights:
-VW Group has invested a billion euros in India, for 4 products. 2 from VW, 2 from Skoda.

About the notchback sedan that he mentioned, possibly the Russian Rapid with different/updated looks? It'll either replace or sell alongside the current Rapid in India.

[SourPai]

I agree (and hope) that Kushaq is going to be a great product in its segment. It will probably compete very well with Koran siblings.

But I am going to go with unpopular opinion here. I somehow don't think this is the best strategy for Skoda in the long run, what we really need is Karoq, Kodiaq and Octavia to be manufactured here in India, and priced competitively. People will gladly pay premium for Karoq over Koreans, but a reasonable premium, not 10L premium. I personally feel Kushq is a tad bit short. Karoq is the right size

20L - 30L OTR segment is quite blank for now with very limited options, and this is where Skoda should have played their cards. My Ideal list of Cars from Skoda/VW group will be following. Price competitiveness can be achieved by aggressive localisation.

Skoda Karoq 1.5 TSI - 25-26 OTR
Kodiaq 2.0TSI at 35L OTR
VW Tiguan 1.5TSI at 26-27 OTR and
VW Tiguan 2.0TSI at 28-29 OTR

Creta Seltos segment is already so crowded, what is the point of adding one more product to already crowded segments? Skoda India needs to create its niche in 20L - 30L OTR segment and create a perception of "value" there, which it does not offer currently. Imaging how many customers would flock Skoda / VW if the cars are priced more competitively?

So many people flocked showrooms when Tiguan prices came down before BS6, All space now, Superb selling in greater numbers with 5-6 L discounts being offered? People are already giving so many hints on the right prices

I would really wait for a day when a global manufacturers realise this and commit towards investment and local production of cars in 20L - 35L price brackets. This is the only day when we will see duopoly of Korean siblings coming down.

[Gizmokid]

Originally Posted by PatienceWins

The best strategy is to wait and watch instead of taking the plunge right away. The initial niggles will also get sorted out, as is the case with any new vehicle produced locally.

Mine was amongst the first 5 does ecosport delivered in Bangalore, and I took the plunge based on the gut feel that it would work, and boy, it did. Very happy with the after sales support and maintenance cost from ford, considering their reputation for the escort and fiesta.

Hoping the same with the empower

[firstdrive]

Originally Posted by PatienceWins

The best strategy is to wait and watch instead of taking the plunge right away. The initial niggles will also get sorted out, as is the case with any new vehicle produced locally.

Not that I support Skoda but here is a reply to a tweet from Zac Hollis back in January 2020.

It’s very optimistic of them to think that it will be a niggle free first batch, hope they achieve it right.

[akash_v12]

Originally Posted by firstdrive

Not that I support Skoda but here is a reply to a tweet from Zac Hollis back in January 2020.

It’s very optimistic of them to think that it will be a niggle free first batch, hope they achieve it right.

I think Zac is talking not about the first-batch but the product as it goes through it's lifecycle. He means to say that the 1st-generation Kushaq will be a much more sorted product than the upcoming 2nd-generation CSUVs/Mid-size SUVs like the Creta.

[Latheesh]

Originally Posted by SourPai

Creta Seltos segment is already so crowded, what is the point of adding one more product to already crowded segments?

Very easy to answer, volume. Have a look at Korean twins sales numbers. They sold more than 20000 units last month. This segment size is around 25000 units a month and it cannot be matched by 20-30L segment.

[WhiteFang]

Originally Posted by udaikalra01

A really fun interview of Zac Hollis by Rohan and Kartikeya from Powerdrift.

Some major highlights:
-New Octavia to be launched before Kushaq
-Kushaq price announcement in May-June
-VW Group has invested a billion euros in India, for 4 products. 2 from VW, 2 from Skoda.

In this interview, Zac Hollis has mentioned two important pillars apart from their products which Skoda would be focusing in India 2.0.
Increase the customer touch points and improve customer sales/service experience. They will be onboaring 150 more dealers before the launch of Kushaq. He is honest to accept that present customer experience with Skoda is below par the expectation. They want to embrace a new culture of sales and service. From what we have seen so far, these two points are not taken mutally exclusive. For increasing touch points, they could have easily added more dealers without any due diligence. Their recent dissociation with long term partners like Autobahn Pvt Limited is a clear example that this is not the case and they are serious about the customer experience part.

Exciting times ahead for Indian Auto enthusiasts.
Skoda- VW, Nissan-Renault are on right track, Domestic companies Tata, Mahindra and Korean twins Hyundai-Kia already rocking the scene, new players coming in along with MSIL - Toyota getting complacent.
I hope FCA, Honda and Ford would come up with something similar for our market soon.

[Candy$Cars]

Originally Posted by SourPai

I
Creta Seltos segment is already so crowded, what is the point of adding one more product to already crowded segments? Skoda India needs to create its niche in 20L - 30L OTR segment and create a perception of "value" there, which it does not offer currently. Imaging how many customers would flock Skoda / VW if the cars are priced more competitively?

Is it? I would say, it is the least crowded segment in the entire passenger cars industry and that too with the highest margins and significant number of sales! There is just no competition. After the Compact SuVs nexon, ecosport, venue you have only the Korean twins in the midsize SUVs. The 14-20L space is so empty, Harrier and Hector fighting it out at the far end.
The way i see it, a lot of customers who bought cars 5-6 years ago for 8-10L (read Compact sedans like xcent, amaze and sedans like Verna, City) if buying a new car will ideally be having a budget of 13-16L this time around. And what do they find at that budget - the Korean twins! Few invest more and get the Harrier or Hector while some settle for Compact SUVs but the majority buy either the Creta or Seltos. I guess this is the reason for their such high sales - perfect price positioning for the rising middle class - a price segment that is now aspirational and also within reach.
The alternatives in this segment are the Duster which is too outdated and utilitarian and the Kicks which is a good option with good interiors but never picked up as it is a Nissan product.
We need more products from other manufacturers in this price segment. For someone like me who doesn't want to buy a Hyundai or a Kia, I don’t see a real upgrade option from my 4th gen City until I invest more for the Harrier/Hector.

[SourPai]

Originally Posted by Latheesh

Very easy to answer, volume. Have a look at Korean twins sales numbers. They sold more than 20000 units last month. This segment size is around 25000 units a month and it cannot be matched by 20-30L segment.

Every price point will have its takers not denying that. However, I am of the opinion that it is the 'Product' that drives customers to a particular price point in the long run.

We do have Innova and Fortuner doing 8-9K per month for Toyota. Why? Because of the product strength.

I know many people who have bought Koreans just because it sells well and there are no other options available. Can they be converted to to a 3-4L higher price point if Karoq is priced correctly? Can someone looking or a Honda city upgrade be converted to Tiguan if it was priced correctly? I would say yes!

20-30L segment has potential to rake upto 6-7K volumes per month easily, if only strong products at right price points were made available by Skoda/VW. Isn't this sufficient to build a case for local manufacturing? Although for these volumes, they need to have variety of gearbox and engine combinations from TC to DCT and 1.5TSI, 2 TSI to 2 TDI

Originally Posted by Candy$Cars

We need more products from other manufacturers in this price segment. For someone like me who doesn't want to buy a Hyundai or a Kia, I don’t see a real upgrade option from my 4th gen City until I invest more for the Harrier/Hector.

Exactly my point. There is no real upgrade available for someone looking to upgrade from Honda City. I would not call Creta / Seltos as upgrade over the city as there is compromise on both rear and boot space. However Karoq or Tiguan will be a solid upgrade. This is the market that needs to be captured by Skoda / VW by aggressive pricing and local manufacturing. It plays on their strength also as they already have good products available globally.

[PatienceWins]

2021 Skoda kamiq review. Interior looks same as the sketch from Skoda. The wheelbase and dimensions are also the same. Like the digital cockpit and infotainment system. Wish the panaromic sunroof made to india as an option; makes sense for Skoda too as it is the latest obsession.

https://youtu.be/7eZOzbh1cko

https://youtu.be/hRR4704P410

[SBM3J]

Originally Posted by PatienceWins

2021 Skoda kamiq review. Interior looks same as the sketch from Skoda. The wheelbase and dimensions are also the same. Like the digital cockpit and infotainment system. Wish the panaromic sunroof made to india as an option; makes sense for Skoda too as it is the latest obsession.

I think they will skip the panoramic roof on Kushaq and will be offered on VW Taigun. But this is expected to get ventilated seats which will be missing on Taigun. I just hope they offer wireless CarPlay and android auto in the final version which is an optional upgrade in many markets for Kamiq. Kamiq has 400l bootspace, hopefully that would make it to India version. The rumored boot space for Taigun(based on the same platform as Kushaq) is only 300l which is way too less.