[TusharK]

Skoda has been forced to delete some features from its models due to the ongoing chip shortage. Earlier, the carmaker had stopped offering auto-folding ORVMs and now, automatic climate control has been removed from the mid-spec 'Ambition' trim of the Kushaq.



The Ambition variant of the Kushaq used to be offered with automatic climate control as standard. However, cars are now being shipped with manual AC instead. The image shows a fairly basic AC module with three rotary controls for the temperature, blower speed and direction.



When Skoda had stopped providing auto-folding ORVMs, customers were being offered a discount of Rs. 20,000. Now with automatic climate removed, customers can expect an additional discount on this variant.

The Kushaq was launched in June last year. The SUV is available in three trims: Active, Ambition and Style, and comes with two engine options - a 1.0L TSI producing 113 BHP and 178 Nm and a 1.5L TSI with 148 BHP and 250 Nm. Transmission options include a 6-speed manual, 6-speed automatic and a 7-speed DSG.

Thanks to the Team-BHP fan (he prefers to remain anonymous) who sent this image in. Heartfelt gratitude for sharing it with other enthusiasts via this Team-BHP share page!

Link to Team-BHP News

[CafeRacer16]

Hope the discount is substantial since this is a feature which I don't think can be retrofitted & price difference between Active & Ambition was already high for the additional features.

[thanixravindran]

I am surprised as just yesterday I posted the below in Kushaq's thread. Cross posting here.

A small correction - Ambition never got the Rs.15,000/Rs. 20,000 discount for the Auto folding mirrors removal as only Style variant got it.

April Brochure still lists Auto AC for Ambition but looks like removed from the actual product as seen from the image (Seat cover color is that of Ambition).

Originally Posted by thanixravindran

Skoda seems to have reintroduced the Electrically foldable mirrors in the Ambition and Style variants. It looks like the chips are now magically available/allocated in just in a quarter (Slavia has them since launch)

Ambition variant in 1.0 TSI MT has silently seen Rs.15,000 hike for this (re)addition. This variant was left untouched in Jan 22 price hike but saw feature deletion and was not compensated unlike the Style variant with the Rs.15,000 voucher. So it is all down to margins and so much to their chip shortage story. Check the new price here - https://www.skoda-auto.co.in/aid/kushaq-checkprice.

Attached is the new brochure here showing the Electrically fold able mirrors added back. Overall an entirely avoidable exercise that was so poorly executed

Does any 2022 Style owner has asked the service center for retrofit of this mirror?

[theAutomaniac]

Originally Posted by TusharK

Skoda has been forced to delete some features from its models due to the ongoing chip shortage. Earlier, the carmaker had stopped offering auto-folding ORVMs and now, automatic climate control has been removed from the mid-spec 'Ambition' trim of the Kushaq.

Wow! Has a touchscreen but omits out on Auto AC which even the significantly cheaper Baleno Sigma and Brezza LXI get as standard! Seems like is working on their Exit.0 strategy, instead of the 2.0 strategy!

[Vid6639]

What is Skoda doing. Why are they all over the place and so much volatility. It's not like the Kushaq sales are segment leading.

Kia/Hyundai is adding features every few months and Skoda is doing the opposite.

[The Rationalist]

Why are these guys hell bound on attracting negative publicity! Maruti or Hyundai could have got away with such antics, not you guys Skoda. Looks like some moody person in finance section is giving instructions to maximize profit. These kind of short sighted moves will only backfire. Give the customer an absolutely loaded car, and they will still gobble it up. The new Indian consumer is a very savvy one and is swayed by features as you can gauge from the sales of top end models from Hyundai and Kia. If you can’t beat them, join them! Are you listening Skoda?

[varunswnt]

Originally Posted by Vid6639

What is Skoda doing. Why are they all over the place and so much volatility. It's not like the Kushaq sales are segment leading.

Kia/Hyundai is adding features every few months and Skoda is doing the opposite.

This is the most I fear. They are exactly repeating mistakes done by Ford in past. With semiconductor shortages, it might break the back of VW and get them thinking to contain losses, thereby accelerating our thought that we most fear.

[bimmer1988]

Originally Posted by TusharK

Skoda has been forced to delete some features from its models due to the ongoing chip shortage. Earlier, the carmaker had stopped offering auto-folding ORVMs and now, automatic climate control has been removed from the mid-spec 'Ambition' trim of the Kushaq.

Link to Team-BHP News

I think Skoda & VW just want to mint money in the name of the brand. With the 2.0 strategy the cars are not even of the expected quality, so I wonder why the Indian customer should even go for them now.

As someone pointed out, other car manufacturers are adding features, with even Maruti Suzuki now giving 6 speed auto in their cars, and here we have Skoda writing its own death story.



They should have learnt from Rapid Rider sales that pricing is the key to Indian market, but yet time and again they are letting us down. The 2.0 strategy should have never compromised on the car quality, the main attribute which made Skoda/VW stand out. I have completely lost faith in this brand, and wouldn't care less if they go the Ford route

[FASTLIFE]

Yukk!! The Tata Altroz/Punch has better looking manual ac's than these rotating knob ones ( I think they are automatic ac only without the sensors as the airflow is controlled by small motor driven actuators rather than manual knobs, something like what an amt does). VW group is already suffering due to multiple issues in their cars yet they keep on deleting features and raising prices.

[sbm]

Originally Posted by FASTLIFE

ones ( I think they are automatic ac only without the sensors as the airflow is controlled by small motor driven actuators rather than manual knobs, something like what an amt does).

Same kind of semi manual AC can be found on XUV 700 AX5 variant. Skoda should've atleast provided this instead of those stone age knobs.

[karan561]

I See this as an Upgrade as I personally dislike the current climate control touch sensitive scroller available on my Kushaq (Style variant) & find it really difficult/distracting to operate A/C Controls while driving. Hope this is available as a retrofit for Style variant owners and we get some cash-back of sorts. Will enquire

[Sabareesan]

How many more years are car mannufacturers going to blame semiconductor/chip shortage? Skoda is not the only manufacturer to do this. Even Tata did the same with Hexa, which was their flagship and every other manufacturer at some point of time

A better way to tackle this will be to provide customize your car/build your car option, where the customers can select only the options they want and skip out on some of the features. If needed, some of the options can be retrofitted at some point later, without voiding the warranty.

This might take a longer time to deliver the car (definitely not longer than a year I guess, Thar I am looking at you ) ), but the customer ultimately gets what he/she paid for.

[GTO]

Originally Posted by Vid6639

What is Skoda doing. Why are they all over the place and so much volatility. It's not like the Kushaq sales are segment leading.

Exactly what I was thinking. The Kushaq is selling below their expectations & commitments to part vendors are given months / years in advance. Assuming that the sales projections were higher, how can they be facing a shortage at lower volumes?

Skoda is really getting a lot of negative PR on the Kushaq. The EPC issue, this feature deletion, deleting electric folding ORVMs, the cost cutting (although I personally don't have any problem with the interiors), overpricing the higher variants (no.1 reason for it not meeting sales targets), other breakdowns, not launching the Top AT with 6 airbags at the start (soon corrected though)...the list goes on. And this is over and above the negative after-sales image that the brand is already fighting.

Shows that selling volume cars isn't really everyone's cup of tea. Maruti, Hyundai & Tata make it look effortless, but moving models that sell over 5000+ copies every month requires superhuman strength & skill.

P.S. Wait till the inevitable DQ200 failures start.

[thanixravindran]

Originally Posted by GTO

Shows that selling volume cars isn't really everyone's cup of tea. Maruti, Hyundai & Tata make it look effortless, but moving models that sell over 5000+ copies every month requires superhuman strength & skill.

Even Kia is fighting the 'perception' battle on safety with the 'Airbag' package first on Carens, now on Seltos and Sonet with facelifts (though I don't think they have addressed the bigger elephant in the room - structural stability which needs more R&D but at least they are trying correct the PR image).

Recently there was a India Investment 2.5 plan by Skoda and I guess they are spending the entire investment in expanding the Marketing/Sales footprint as seen by the opening of dealership at Tier 2 and 3 towns across India. Possibly the thinking is with more sales points, they can gain the market but again I believe they are not realizing the buyer sentiment in India that once product is perceived as Poor quality or Non-VFM, it can never recover just by increasing geographic spread.

With these feature cuts, they simply don't have any talking point on the ground (Forget the safety aspect as they don't even want it crash tested) and the only trump card left is the immediate delivery (due to unsold stock)

[RJK]

Originally Posted by karan561

I See this as an Upgrade as I personally dislike the current climate control touch sensitive scroller available on my Kushaq (Style variant) & find it really difficult/distracting to operate A/C Controls while driving. Hope this is available as a retrofit for Style variant owners and we get some cash-back of sorts. Will enquire

I agree on the climate control! Personally, I find it to be pointless feature despite having it in both of our cars. Even with the climate control, I usually set blower speed manually to 3 and temperature to 24-25 C to avoid playing around with the temperature since I like a fixed amount of air flowing towards me at all times - not the way Auto climate control delivers it.