[ampere]

Originally Posted by Willeys78

Got a call from local Skoda dealership in blore today and they asked about an enquiry i made months back for a Skoda. I enquired about the Octavia replacement and they confirmed something new is coming up in next 3months in the same name but the vehicle seems entirely new.

Great to hear that. Surely he must not have given any details.

[Willeys78]

Originally Posted by ampere

Great to hear that. Surely he must not have given any details.

The sales guy was more interested in talking about Yeti than new Octavia. The good news is i started getting calls - a couple of times from their dealership in Bangalore & one time from some Skoda corporate office in Mumbai for just an enquiry made at their showroom. So does this mean, Skoda started caring for Indians at-last? The bad news is, they responded after only 6 months!

Also i had a different experience at Skoda showroom in St.Marks road, Bangalore. When i went to showroom months back, it was all together a mess. I had time in between the service of my existing car, a ford and thought of checking at the Skoda showroom at St.Marks road, Bangalore. Reached there by 6pm and all i could see in showroom was a messed up sales team, one sales guy not even wearing any foot wear, 1 or 2 buttons he kept open in his shirt chatting and relaxing with his buddies as if he is on his holiday, not even bothered to care any prospective customer. Luckily he came after running searching for a piece of brochure and shared some info. Test drives require prior booking and i left show room leaving my number half heartedly due to the lack of professional approach from sales team.

So finally when i started getting calls from them, i was surprised! but only after 6months! What a customer care!

[sbraj]

Originally Posted by Willeys78

Also i had a different experience at Skoda showroom in St.Marks road, Bangalore.

TAFE Access is not up to the mark. Vinayak Skoda is much better, as per the experience shared by Skoda owners on the forum.

[AyAn!]

The Vento seemed to be the most sensible option to form the base of the new Octavia.Now it'll be interesting to see where Skoda positions the car.However there remains a strong possibility of the new Octavia cannibalizing sales of the Vento,unless Skoda offers more frills and positions it above the Vento,which seems highly unlikely.

[karanraheja]

One more rendering this time from Auto Bild :-

[krreddy]

Originally Posted by karanraheja

One more rendering this time from Auto Bild :-

That's looks like a photo shopped Octavia III

[Parm]

Skoda's new sedan to race with Swift Dzire, Logan

Mumbai: Skoda Auto India's new sedan, which will hit the roads next year, will be placed under its parent Volkswagen's Vento. Theoretically, it replaces the Octavia. Considering the Laura was the successor of Octavia in the market, Thomas Kuehl, board member and director, sales and marketing, Skoda Auto India, said, "It will be a new sedan produced in India with high localisation. It will be an entry level sedan in the C segment and carry a new name."

The new entry level sedan will also be seen in other markets, said Kuehl. He, however, did not divulge details on any export plans of the company . Currently, Skoda sells new Fabia, new Laura and new Superb in the market. It will be launching its compact sports utility vehicle (SUV) Yeti this month.

The Skoda's new entry level sedan will compete against cars like the Maruti Swift Dzire, Mahindra Logan and Tata Indigo Manza. It will be priced lower than the VW Vento that sells at a price between Rs 6.99-7.99 lakh ex-showroom New Delhi.

Explaining the strategy of Skoda Auto in India, Kuehl said, "We are the entry brand for the VW Group, globally , and a VW model is seen as a upgrade to the Skoda brand. In terms of the pricing and product point, we are a notch down in position to the VW models.

Skoda's new sedan to race with Swift Dzire, Logan - 1 - *Autos - MSN India

[Sumeetstoic]

What exactly do they mean by localisation? Aren't they already manufacturing in India at Aurangabad? Also, they've fairly localised in terms of designs( added chrome on superb and laura)

Nevertheless, it will be good to see a Skoda under 7lac. They will need to bring down the spares prices too proportionately to succeed, and of course notch up the After sales experience.

Regards
Sumeet

[(Alok)]

To compete any maruti product cheaper maintenance cost is required more than a brand name. What logan has achieved till now?

[sachinj12]

Originally Posted by (Alok)

To compete any maruti product cheaper maintenance cost is required more than a brand name. What logan has achieved till now?

More than that, the apprehension associated with the brand Skoda will keep customers away. The entry level Sedan segment is as sensitive as the entry level hatch segment. Price and more importantly reliability call the shots more than image and comfort, something which Skoda has never been know for. If at all, there will only be niche market similar to Jazz.

[ashutoshb]

Thats two segments down. Not competing with the Civic, not the SX4, but the Dzire and the Logan!

The DZire petrol starts at 4.9 L, Logan petrol at 4.7 L. The Vento petrol starts at 7 L.

What the article suggests, the Octavia can be launched at a starting price of sub 5 lakhs. Thats two lakhs down on the Vento!

But, then again, with the new Fabia starting at 4.35 L, it is indeed a possibility.

[.anshuman]

Originally Posted by Parm

The Skoda's new entry level sedan will compete against cars like the Maruti Swift Dzire, Mahindra Logan and Tata Indigo Manza. It will be priced lower than the VW Vento that sells at a price between Rs 6.99-7.99 lakh ex-showroom New Delhi.

I seriously doubt this. Expect the new sedan based on the Vento sharing the same engine and lots of parts to be priced in the same range as the Vento. Pricing it any lower will have a negative impact on the Fabia sales.

It's the Fabia which is priced in the range of DZire and Logan.

[Gurudatta Nayak]

As per me Skoda India is slowly repositioning Skoda Brand as Affordable Car Brand where as VW as Premium Brand.

[suhaas307]

I'm thoroughly confused here.

The fact: The new Skoda sedan will be based on the Vento.

Anshuman has mentioned that the new Octavia replacement will be priced a notch higher than the Vento, but definitely lower than the entry-level Laura.

It would seem like the obvious move.

Now will Skoda price the car in-between the Vento and the Laura so that the alarmingly large gap is filled up? Or will they add a new dimension to the 'Skoda' brand and position all Skoda cars equally/below VW cars, considering the fact that this is how VAG positions Skoda (below VW) globally?

I think that there is a possibility of the latter happening and that the Octavia-replacement is actually, not an Octavia replacement, but Skoda-ised Vento! But for now, I believe that this new mystery Skoda will be priced within the same bracket as the out-going Octavia or thereabouts.

[karanraheja]

Originally Posted by suhaas307

Anshuman has mentioned that the new Octavia replacement will be priced a notch higher than the Vento, but definitely lower than the entry-level Laura.

Mr.Kuehl has mentioned in the article that Skoda is a notch down in position compared to VW. So expect the New Octavia most probably to be christened the Skoda Felicia to be priced slightly cheaper than the Vento.