Team-BHP > The Indian Car Scene


Closed Thread
  Search this Thread
15,824 views
Old 26th May 2008, 13:34   #16
Senior - BHPian
 
ram_hyundai's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Calicut ,trisur
Posts: 2,020
Thanked: 53 Times

I feel most of the prospective skoda Octavia customers are opting for the laura now as they all fear that the Octavia could be stopped.But the positioning of the laura as GTO said is smart by means of base version and price reduction.
ram
ram_hyundai is offline  
Old 26th May 2008, 19:53   #17
Senior - BHPian
 
abhinav.gupta88's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Delhi , India
Posts: 4,092
Thanked: 325 Times

RELIABLE SOURCE :

Skoda will continue with the octavia with the vRs manufactured on order only in black and red as of now

The octavia is here till the year 2010 mid atleast ( no chances of it being phased out before that )

Also be prepared to see some minor changes in the octavia which could include, better features in the rider, and the elegance model.

All the info is from a trusted source.

Skoda may also get the roomster which was displayed at the auto expo and sell it at 9-10 lakh along with the octavia.
abhinav.gupta88 is offline  
Old 3rd June 2008, 03:53   #18
BHPian
 
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Bangalore
Posts: 82
Thanked: 3 Times

Its about time the phased out octavia
all thats left of it is vrs

Mods note: Use punctuation properly. Use upper case to start a sentence.

Last edited by Rudra Sen : 3rd June 2008 at 07:57.
Team_Godspeed is offline  
Old 3rd June 2008, 08:19   #19
Senior - BHPian
 
aaggoswami's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Vadodara
Posts: 4,982
Thanked: 2,929 Times

They will have to eventually make way for VW cars and this might bring end to Octavia. This is likely. Laura is quite successfull and this has made Skoda or rather VW more confident.

They might stop Octavia. This might happen within one year or two year time frame. But it wont be here for very long now.

Last edited by aaggoswami : 3rd June 2008 at 08:21.
aaggoswami is offline  
Old 3rd June 2008, 08:44   #20
BHPian
 
ankit.jhamb's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: new delhi
Posts: 573
Thanked: Once

i think people choose laura over octavia these days,as laura is seen a step above the current octavia.the current laura in terms of pricing is good for the octavia customers who can spend a few lakhs more on a car
ankit.jhamb is offline  
Old 3rd June 2008, 08:53   #21
BANNED
 
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Bangalore
Posts: 11,368
Thanked: 23,090 Times
Infractions: 0/3 (12)

Laura is the new gen Octavia which has replaced Octy abroad.
However, here in India there is enough space in the market for both the Octavia AND the LAura to co-exist - atleast for the next 2 years or so.
Therefore, in order to retain as well as further build their Brand Equity and Market Share, Skoda India will continue to sell both models into the foreseeable future.
Of course, with the advent of the Fabia and in particular, the new variant of the Fabia (1.2 Ambiente), they are trying to consolidate their position by capturing territory in the lower size segment as well.
With the advent of the Roomster, they will try and capture some territory in the MUV space too.
The Superb is anyway doing duty in the upper end luxe exec sedan segment - great value for money and feature packed at a decent price for that segment.
It appears they have a pretty decent as well as effective market strategy in place - all that remains is the full roll out and proper execution! If they up their stakes in the service/ After sales care area too, that will help them to send their roots deep and establish them better as a long term horse. Of course, the one good thing about Skoda is that they've been pretty consistent about their quality and their main promise to consumers - premium, solid build, quality and tough tech plus FE.

Apart from all this, VW will further consolidate their position with the advent of the JETTA!
Looks pretty much like they want a choke hold on us Indians doesnt it?
But since they seem to have got their formula pretty correct, it looks like they ve got a good chance at success.

Last edited by shankar.balan : 3rd June 2008 at 08:55.
shankar.balan is offline  
Old 3rd June 2008, 09:34   #22
BHPian
 
BurningHeart's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: New York
Posts: 428
Thanked: 58 Times

Quote:
Originally Posted by CR-V View Post
Well in UK octavia (I) is also selling side by side laura (octavia II), just like in india.

And I feel octavia has a more classy body than laura. Plus I own one too .
There is no Laura in UK! Absolutely not.

What you see are probably well-maintained older cars. Keep an eye out for the registration nos and tell us if you see anything more than a 05, 55 or 06.

BH.
BurningHeart is offline  
Old 3rd June 2008, 10:54   #23
Team-BHP Support
 
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Bangalore
Posts: 14,841
Thanked: 27,791 Times

[quote=BurningHeart;851936]There is no Laura in UK! Absolutely not.

QUOTE]

The Laura is very much there but called the Octy. The old Octy is no lnger sold there. There is as demand in E Europe where it is despecced and comes with a 1.6 engine. Rumour has it that Skoda will revamp this to enter launch in India and China and position as a cheap no frills car like the Logan
ajmat is offline  
Old 3rd June 2008, 10:57   #24
BHPian
 
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Pune
Posts: 213
Thanked: 0 Times

Quote:
Originally Posted by GTO View Post
Octavia sales are slowing down big time; in fact, the Laura now outsells the Octavia by a comfortable margin. Skoda India has smartly repositioned the Laura, via base versions and price cuts, to take over from the Octavia.

I wouldn't be surprised if the Octavia is discontinued in the near future. Or to make way for the VW's!

I agree with GTO on this one. You can nowadays see more new Laura on Mumbai roads than new Octavia. Seems like they are heading right way, only if they can make Laura more reliable & maintenance free.
given2fly is offline  
Old 3rd June 2008, 11:01   #25
BHPian
 
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Pune
Posts: 213
Thanked: 0 Times

Too many people are quoting reliable sources and quoting no sources. All just FUD & gossip and no basis. Yucks.
given2fly is offline  
Old 3rd June 2008, 13:28   #26
BHPian
 
dhaval's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Pune
Posts: 404
Thanked: Once

IMO, the Octavia is very much the bread winner for Skoda Auto in India. I do agree that Laura sales may have been on the rise, but it doesn't mean that the Octii sales have depleted. Moreover, AFAIK Laura is only available in diesel, whereas the Octii still has the petrol variant, and i believe not everyone buys a diesel. Therefore IMO the Octavia wont be discontinued.

Take the M800 for example; Alto sales are on a rise compared to the M800, so by that logic M800 should have been stopped. Actually by now it should have been a history a good 10-15 years back.

Last edited by dhaval : 3rd June 2008 at 13:36. Reason: some additions
dhaval is offline  
Old 3rd June 2008, 17:37   #27
GTO
Team-BHP Support
 
GTO's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Bombay
Posts: 70,335
Thanked: 298,732 Times

Quote:
Originally Posted by dhaval View Post
IMO, the Octavia is very much the bread winner for Skoda Auto in India. I do agree that Laura sales may have been on the rise, but it doesn't mean that the Octii sales have depleted.
The Laura is already outselling the Octavia.
GTO is offline  
Old 3rd June 2008, 23:53   #28
Senior - BHPian
 
ashutoshb's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: NOIDA
Posts: 1,750
Thanked: 4,256 Times
Octavia is not dead

Though not relevant to the Indian market (or perhaps is), here is what AutoExpress UK has to say..

Quote:
Skoda to build old Octavia again
  • The car, first launched in 1998, is set to return to full production as a discount model.
  • Details of the newcomer remain scarce, but Skoda has admitted the car is likely to go on sale in 2010 with a price tag of less than £10,000.
  • Described as a ‘world car’, the Octavia would be made available across Europe as well as new markets such as China.
  • It’s possible that the first models will use an upgraded version of the VW Group’s proven 1.9-litre diesel and its 2.0-litre petrol engines. But smaller, more economical units could also be offered at a later date.
  • The newcomer is likely to share some of its design and engineering with the recently confirmed SEAT Bolero. That model is based on the last Audi A4 platform, and is set to be revealed at the Paris Motor Show.
Source: Skoda to build old Octavia again | Auto Express News | News | Auto Express
ashutoshb is offline  
Old 3rd June 2008, 23:57   #29
Senior - BHPian
 
aaggoswami's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Vadodara
Posts: 4,982
Thanked: 2,929 Times

Quote:
Originally Posted by GTO View Post
The Laura is already outselling the Octavia.
That too by a huge margin. ACI says that Laura outsells Octavia by around 50 %.
aaggoswami is offline  
Old 4th June 2008, 00:46   #30
Senior - BHPian
 
Mpower's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Bangalore
Posts: 10,409
Thanked: 1,729 Times

Quote:
Originally Posted by The Hurricane View Post
So what will Skoda india do to revive sales ... will it stop the octavia as in india it is due for an upgrade? tell me what you think........
Skoda India has announced that they will realaunch the Octy with a fresh new look (front end sheetmetal). Can't remember where I read about it.

IMO, everything else about the car is still appealing except the boxy front end.
Mpower is offline  
Closed Thread

Most Viewed
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Team-BHP.com
Proudly powered by E2E Networks