[84.monsoon]

I expect Skoda to follow the Octavia-style premium pricing strategy for the 1.5 L variants of the Kushaq but go for a more aggressive strategy for the 1.0 Litre variants. With the Octavia, they brought the top spec engine available anywhere in the world to India (except the VRS range) - for example, most of the Octavias’ sold in the UK are offered with 1.5 and 1.0 TSI engines and the 2.0 TSI seems to be reserved for the VRS. In a similar vein, they are bringing the best powertrain they have in the world for the compact SUV range, including Active Cylinder Technology, in the Kushaq 1.5. This is likely be priced high, in the 17-19 lakhs range, due to high import content and premium positioning.

On the other hand, the 1.0 range is the mainstream one and this is the only hope for Skoda to gain a meaningful foothold in the industry in terms of market share. All their other cars, except the Rapid, are low volume models and the Rapid is long past its shelf life. Skoda needs a big volume hit (and so does VW) for its India 2.0 strategy to take off. If Wolfsburg does not see significant market share in the country in the next two to three years, they will probably wind up both the companies in India. The Skoda India leadership knows this, and realises this is the one and only chance, and that it needs to go absolutely all out with the Kushaq and the Rapid replacement. This is the only way to gain significant volumes, of the order of at least ten thousand cars a month in total and this is only possible with aggressive pricing and targeting the 10-12 lakh segment.

[sagwal]

Originally Posted by Dhananjay_Desai

Price they are expecting for the 1.5 litre top variant car:

ex showroom of 17-18 lakhs for the manual
ex showroom of 19-20 lakhs for the DSG

T Roc 2020 ex-showroom price 20 lakhs
T Roc 2021 ex-showroom price 21.35 lakhs

19-20 lakhs for Kushaq is on the higher side.

Skoda should aim around 17-18 lakhs for 1.5 TSi+ DSG

[ToThePoint]

Originally Posted by 84.monsoon

This is the only way to gain significant volumes, of the order of at least ten thousand cars a month in total and this is only possible with aggressive pricing and targeting the 10-12 lakh segment.

If you remember, Skoda has set target of 60k units per year as per some old posts in this thread.

Anyways, Ten thousand per month is wishful thinking and a big big ask from a company which cited production constraints for a 10 year old model a couple months ago (current MoM deliveries stand at < 1K)!

[SBM3J]

Originally Posted by sagwal

T Roc 2020 ex-showroom price 20 lakhs
T Roc 2021 ex-showroom price 21.35 lakhs

19-20 lakhs for Kushaq is on the higher side.

Skoda should aim around 17-18 lakhs for 1.5 TSi+ DSG

If they infact price this as high as 19-20L, it just shows that Skoda(and VAG) is just plain arrogant and its not going to help the already arrogant image created by the service centers. I am not the expert on pricing, but I guess if they price this way, a lot of people who are waiting for this car is going to be very disappointed and will look at other options.

Hopefully Skoda has done the market research and pricing will be sensible and if market supports it, they can look to go the Creta way and increase the price once they establish it on the market and if there is solid demand.

For comparison, Creta TOP end with 1.4 Turbo engine+DCT is priced at 17.7L ex-showroom in Bangalore. it comes with all the features Skoda offers(+digital instrument cluster, driving modes, electric parking breaks, panoramic sunroof, air purifier, auto hold, bigger car etc). The only thing which Skoda can say is build quality and driving dynamics, which we dont know how it will be for a 1st generation 95% localized car.

I dont think your dealer is right about the price he mentioned, if he is right, Skoda's aim is to just make some quick money out from the "Fans" by releasing the 1.5L model with DSG, after 1 year it will be either discontinued, or there will be huge discounts, and people who have bought it will run around for parts availability.

[any23]

Originally Posted by Dhananjay_Desai

I spoke to the sales team lead of a Skoda dealer in Bangalore to check on the Kushaq and it’s availability. I’m specifically interested in the top of the line variant for the 1.5 manual and below are the details I got from him:

Price release around June 25

Price they are expecting for the 1.5 litre top variant car:

ex showroom of 17-18 lakhs for the manual
ex showroom of 19-20 lakhs for the DSG

I’ve already booked the Creta in the first week Feb (diesel manual SXO). The wait time coupled with the resignation/subsequent departure of my sales consultant at Hyundai (he was an acquaintance of my trusted SA) and the apathetic nature of his replacement has lead me to seriously consider cancelling the booking and look at the Kushaq. But if the prices quoted by the skoda sales person end up being realistic then I doubt I would consider it.

Even my gut feeling about the pricing of twins Kushaq/Taigun say they will be charged a premium. This is based on my conversation with my known SAs in VW & Skoda and recenlty announced Octavia price reveal, VW SA was repeatedly stressing on the point that VW is known for its built and quality, there is no way Taigun will be priced cheaper than korean counter parts. The Skoda advisor didn't have clarity about pricing but he too was convinced that it will be priced higher than Korean counter parts.


Hope Skoda management have some sense while deciding the price, as i want these two brands to flourish in India -straight from the heart of VAG fan.

[anto1212]

Originally Posted by 84.monsoon

This is likely be priced high, in the 17-19 lakhs range, due to high import content and premium positioning.

Seriously, 19 lakhs ex-showroom? If that's the case, many will switch to Koreans!

[kushagra452]

I am hoping for a 10L-15L ex-showroom price for the Kushaq. I am interested in the mid CVT variant and hoping VW prices it within 13L ex-showroom. Car prices in India have gone through the roof. Creta top end north of 2 Million INR is insane. If VW disappoints, then I guess I will make my way back to Maruti Suzuki.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Do we really expect this to be priced at 19 lakhs, when the Creta tops out at 17.7? Looks like they are not even coming out with a true top-end variant at launch, which could be reserved for later!

If it truly tops out at 19 lakhs despite having size disadvantage, features disadvantage, service and sales network disadvantage etc - Skoda will only get a few enthusiasts at the showrooms for taking test drives and nothing more!

Octavia segment has no competition and no sales. Same strategy doesn't work for a mass market product like the Kushaq.

[karan0009]

Originally Posted by kushagra452

I am hoping for a 10L-15L ex-showroom price for the Kushaq. I am interested in the mid CVT variant and hoping VW prices it within 13L ex-showroom.

No CVT for Kushaq. It will be available with Torque Converter for 1.0 L engine and DCT/DSG for 1.5 L. You can expect mid variant of 1.0 L with TC for around 13-14 Lakhs.

[AnnaRocks]

The fact that they are talking about 17-19 lakhs ex showroom for an S-Cross sized car(a 5 star rated car which starts at 8.3 ex for MT and 10.8 for AT) shows that they have succeeded in their "Shout its a Creta-rival from the rooftop" strategy to place Kushaq as a car that should be at par with or higher than Creta in pricing and make most people perceive it to be a nothing less than a 12 lakh car. Even though probably nothing goes in favor of them other than their favorite selling pitch - loud thud when the door closes, a smooth TSI engine and some fans. Hope they realize that they are at disadvantage on every other front here if their aim is high volume and price it in an aggressive manner, especially when there is MG Astor coming up immediately with some supposedly segment leading tech, followed by Mahindra's some or the other- UV 000 s .

Eagerly waiting for the price reveal .

[Nithesh_M]

This will probably start from where the old Rapid pricing is currently at for mid variant (10l) and the top end 1.5 will sit At (17l).
That gives them a good price gap to plug that sedan they want to slot between Rapid and the new Octavia.

[sheelapratosh]

While I too feel overpricing will mark the beginning of the end of the road for the group, I truly believe we should give some time for the official price release before we kill it before it arrives.

We are yet to see the finished product in flesh.
We are yet to see the safety results.
We are yet to test from TBhp..

I am also in the market in the same price range. I am very impatient as well. My fear is the need to wait for a Creta if this doesn’t materialise. Imagine waiting for a Creta for months after waiting for almost an year for Kushaq!!

I worked with Europeans in my career. Usually they are smart. But this stiffness in delaying final reveal and price release is just like a sloth bear. If they wait for THE ideal time, guess only the Virus can answer..

[84.monsoon]

Originally Posted by ToThePoint

If you remember, Skoda has set target of 60k units per year as per some old posts in this thread.

Anyways, Ten thousand per month is wishful thinking and a big big ask from a company which cited production constraints for a 10 year old model a couple months ago (current MoM deliveries stand at < 1K)!

Indian has passenger car sales of around 4 million units per annum. Even if Skoda sold 10,000 cars per month, their market share will be around 3%. I don't think VW will want to play in a market long term if they cannot cross even 5% market share combined between Skoda and VW cars. In fact, their target in India is indeed to reach 5% combined market share by 2025. Passenger vehicle sales will grow around 5% per year, so the total market size in 2025 will be 5 million units and Skoda/VW have to reach a combined sales of 250,000 vehicles per year to get to 5% market share. So the kind of sales volumes they have to aim for is big, if they want to be a long term player in India.

[ToThePoint]

Originally Posted by 84.monsoon

In fact, their target in India is indeed to reach 5% combined market share by 2025. Passenger vehicle sales will grow around 5% per year, so the total market size in 2025 will be 5 million units and Skoda/VW have to reach a combined sales of 250,000 vehicles per year to get to 5% market share. So the kind of sales volumes they have to aim for is big, if they want to be a long term player in India.

The point I made is we are in 2021 and the product has just entered production. There is no point talking about 2025 market share when we neither know the price point and positioning nor the demand it will create.

So at this juncture, I will rather go with what Skoda officials have predicted and officially announced based on their 2.0 strategy rather than merely speculating considering our own wishes.

Cheers!

[pocketaces]

I have been following this thread and Kushaq's older thread for several months now, and I just became a registered member of the forum a few days ago. I used to drive an i20 Sports diesel (2013) until October, and my car got damaged entirely in a heavy rain/flood in Bengaluru. It was a total loss, and I got 100% of the car's IDV from the insurance company. Since then, I have been looking for a proper upgrade and ended up booking Creta SXO Diesel Automatic(TC) even though I wasn't happy with my choice.

I had never tried VW/Skoda cars until recently, and when I drove my friends' Rapid TDI DSG and Polo GT DSG, I decided to wait for Kushaq's launch and cancelled my Creta booking. I don't have any cars now and have been driving Revv's subscription car (i10 Diesel) for the last six months. I hoped that Kushaq 1.5 DSG would be priced at around 22L (OTR Bangalore) or below, but it looks like the top variant Kushaq will go beyond 24L OTR. I just spoke to PPS Skoda a while ago, and the dealer confirmed that the official launch would happen on the 27th of June, and the pricing will be around 12-24L OTR (9.99L to 19L ex-showroom); 2L more than what I was expecting. I really don't want to spend more than 22L (I arrived at this no. after going through several t-bhp threads on financial aspects while making a car purchase). Now I have the following options -

- Go for 1L torque converter Kushaq. I will consider this option only if they offer a style variant with ventilated seats, 4+ airbags etc.
- Go back to Creta / Seltos (Wait for 4-5 more months + I will have to extend my car's subscription, which costs 22K / month)
- Consider alternative options such as Honda City, Skoda Rapid Monte Carlo etc.

Any inputs on making this buying decision would be highly appreciated.
Thanks!