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Old 4th November 2011, 13:42   #466
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Re: Skoda Rapid based on VW Vento begins production. Launch on 16th November, 2011

The dealer i visited said the same thing. Prices etc should be out by the 11th and the display car will be available in Delhi by the 15th as per them.

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Originally Posted by nayaksudhir View Post
Had a chat with Skoda dealer yesterday. He quoted a price of 9.5 Lakh (approx) for diesel top model (ex showroom).

Other information he shared was that Delhi NCR sales employees were asked to be present in Gurgaon on 10th Nov. Probably they'll reveal detailed specs and prices.

Delivery expected in second week of Dec.
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Old 4th November 2011, 13:44   #467
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Re: Skoda Rapid based on VW Vento begins production. Launch on 16th November, 2011

confusion on this issue , the link posted by Scorcher above to the carwale first drive clearly states " In addition, the Ambition and the Elegance can also be ordered with a 6-speed conventional automatic ‘box."


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So, its confirmed that Diesel will not be Automatic.
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Old 4th November 2011, 14:00   #468
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Re: Skoda Rapid based on VW Vento begins production. Launch on 16th November, 2011

I don't understand what the VW group is trying to achieve with this. All that this car will do is to take away some customers away from the Vento. It would not hurt the sales of Verna and City. IMHO whoever likes/dislikes the Vento will have the same feelings for the rapid. Its literally the same car. The least they could have done is launch a diesel AT. In a market like India's with the rising petrol costs what are the manufacturers doing? They already are sitting on massive petrol stocks that are unsold. Ofcourse in such a scenario the AT buyers will be even less owning to a more dismal FE in the petrol car. Offer that AT in the diesel rather then let the Petrol variants be only in MT.
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Old 4th November 2011, 14:19   #469
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Re: Skoda Rapid based on VW Vento begins production. Launch on 16th November, 2011

Mohit, it's a ploy to pull customers from the Verna. Even if Vento sales dip a bit thaks to the Rapid, it's almost certain that Vento+Rapid will be higher than Vento alone today, just as Fabia flanks the Polo in the hatch segment.

Skoda and VW now have vehicles sharing engines across the spectrum of segments right from the hatch and sedan upto the premium sedan (Laura, Jetta) and entry-luxe segments (Superb, Passat). I feel it allows them to experiment with combinations of features across the range and have offerings that keep more or less everyone happy.

I am relieved that the Rapid doesn't come in a diesel AT avatar because that would have given me buyer's remorse like anything

Awaiting the Rapid's launch- it's quite a pretty baby that!
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Old 4th November 2011, 14:49   #470
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Re: Skoda Rapid based on VW Vento begins production. Launch on 16th November, 2011

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Originally Posted by drmohitg View Post
I don't understand what the VW group is trying to achieve with this. All that this car will do is to take away some customers away from the Vento. It would not hurt the sales of Verna and City. IMHO whoever likes/dislikes the Vento will have the same feelings for the rapid. Its literally the same car. The least they could have done is launch a diesel AT. In a market like India's with the rising petrol costs what are the manufacturers doing? They already are sitting on massive petrol stocks that are unsold. Ofcourse in such a scenario the AT buyers will be even less owning to a more dismal FE in the petrol car. Offer that AT in the diesel rather then let the Petrol variants be only in MT.
I disagree mohit. While it may pull a few customers from Vento, i am guessing it will pull even more from Verna/City. Skoda has a very good brand image in India and with the lower prices on offer, i think this will do well.

They wont launch Diesel AT as i guess the pricing would go into Laura/Jetta territory. And i am sure they are not going to manufacture 1000's of petrol Rapids but concentrate on making TDi's more as definitely the market is moving towards a diesel monopoly.
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Old 4th November 2011, 14:51   #471
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Re: Skoda Rapid based on VW Vento begins production. Launch on 16th November, 2011

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Originally Posted by ethanhunt123 View Post
It's not as if VW has had glowing reviews for its *** . And with Skoda Shield a lot of headache is gone.

I think if this is priced lower than Vento, its going to outsell it.
VW may not have glowing A$$. But atleast there are no horror stories so far. But that said I believe Skoda is also trying to get rid of their notorious image but there isnt much co-operation from the dealers.
Sure the Skoda shield is a great bargain. I dont have much information regarding it & so I will reserve my comments here.

It is an interesting question, who will sell more? The polo sells 6 times more than Fabia although both are essentially the same. The Fabia is even better ehen it comes to interior quality & space. But still it is the polo that stands out on the sales chart. Why? Looks & A$$ (or better reputation). So it makes a difference.
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Old 4th November 2011, 15:01   #472
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Re: Skoda Rapid based on VW Vento begins production. Launch on 16th November, 2011

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VW may not have glowing A$$. But atleast there are no horror stories so far. But that said I believe Skoda is also trying to get rid of their notorious image but there isnt much co-operation from the dealers.
Sure the Skoda shield is a great bargain. I dont have much information regarding it & so I will reserve my comments here.

It is an interesting question, who will sell more? The polo sells 6 times more than Fabia although both are essentially the same. The Fabia is even better ehen it comes to interior quality & space. But still it is the polo that stands out on the sales chart. Why? Looks & A$$ (or better reputation). So it makes a difference.
Fabia does not sell as much as Polo because at the time of its launch, it was overpriced and the tag has stuck. And yes, Polo is a much sweeter looking car than Fabia.

Skoda shield is a 4 yr extended warranty option which ensure peace of mind in case of any part failures, AFAIK VW doesnt even offer any extended warranty on some of its cars (Atleast they dont have it on Jetta - as per Sales Advisor here in Blr)

And going by the same logic, Superb outsells Passat and Laura outsells Jetta consistently. So what happened to A$$ stories here ? Infact looking through the forum, there have been 2-3 shocking Skoda incidents indeed but still ownership reports of Laura outnumber Jetta reports 10:1. What does this say ?
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Old 4th November 2011, 15:03   #473
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Re: Skoda Rapid based on VW Vento begins production. Launch on 16th November, 2011

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Originally Posted by ethanhunt123 View Post
I disagree mohit. While it may pull a few customers from Vento, i am guessing it will pull even more from Verna/City. Skoda has a very good brand image in India and with the lower prices on offer, i think this will do well.

They wont launch Diesel AT as i guess the pricing would go into Laura/Jetta territory. And i am sure they are not going to manufacture 1000's of petrol Rapids but concentrate on making TDi's more as definitely the market is moving towards a diesel monopoly.
I have my reservations since the 2 cars are literally the same. If I like gadgets for instance I will still pick up the Verna. If I like better after sales I still pick up honda / Hyundai. Same for the reliability factor. I pick Vento for its awesome engine and european built which also happen to be the only 2 things that the Rapid will be offering which make it different from the competition. Hence my observation.

Diesel AT makes so much more sense to me then a Petrol AT. The top end of diesel TDI comes at around 9.5L for the Vento and rumored to be around 9L for the Rapid. So assuming they charge a premium of 1L for the AT box, it still comes at around 11.5L OTR which is a lot lesser then the Jetta/Laura diesel variants. I will love to buy a diesel AT in the C segment car.

Quote:
Originally Posted by ethanhunt123 View Post
And going by the same logic, Superb outsells Passat and Laura outsells Jetta consistently. So what happened to A$$ stories here ? Infact looking through the forum, there have been 2-3 shocking Skoda incidents indeed but still ownership reports of Laura outnumber Jetta reports 10:1. What does this say ?
Superb came first and offers much more equipment compared to the Passat which never really took off. Laura sells more because of the TSI engine. Most of the threads you will see are of TSI. Also the fact that Skoda offers DSG in all variants is a boon. With the Jetta launch I think you will actually notice equal number of Jetta and Laura TDI threads.

Last edited by drmohitg : 4th November 2011 at 15:07.
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Old 4th November 2011, 15:22   #474
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Re: Skoda Rapid based on VW Vento begins production. Launch on 16th November, 2011

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Originally Posted by ethanhunt123 View Post
Laura outnumber Jetta reports 10:1.
Not anymore. As per the latest report for October sales the gap is too narrow and is in double digits.
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Old 4th November 2011, 15:32   #475
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Re: Skoda Rapid based on VW Vento begins production. Launch on 16th November, 2011

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Originally Posted by drmohitg View Post
Superb came first and offers much more equipment compared to the Passat which never really took off. Laura sells more because of the TSI engine. Most of the threads you will see are of TSI. Also the fact that Skoda offers DSG in all variants is a boon. With the Jetta launch I think you will actually notice equal number of Jetta and Laura TDI threads.
Agreed to a lot of your points - Superb came first with a lot of features which Passat doesnt have and old Jetta was nowhere in comparison to Laura, also Laura offers DSG in all variants.

BUT TSi hardly sells - ask your local Skoda dealer. The same reason why you have such mouth watering discounts on TSi (~1.3-1.4L). And these numbers easily show that the terror of Skoda A$$ is limited mostly to T-Bhp.
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Old 4th November 2011, 15:51   #476
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Re: Skoda Rapid based on VW Vento begins production. Launch on 16th November, 2011

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Originally Posted by ethanhunt123 View Post

BUT TSi hardly sells - ask your local Skoda dealer. The same reason why you have such mouth watering discounts on TSi (~1.3-1.4L). And these numbers easily show that the terror of Skoda A$$ is limited mostly to T-Bhp.
Thats true. But I said that in reference to your observation that most threads on our forum have been for the Laura. Most of these in recent months have been for the TSI. Good discounts plus lack of an option when it comes to Petrol engines since civic is in for a change, Altis is considered way too sedate and cruze comes only in Diesel.

The Skoda after sales are notorious on the forum. I do agree. But the general perception outside is not that great too. They may not be aware of the cases reported on the forum but they do know that After sales is costly and the car is not cheap to maintain. A customer in the c segment is indeed a tad more concerned about the maintenance cost in the long run compared to a D segment buyer.

Anyways keeping all these aside I still don't honestly get the reason behind this car. Hope I am proven wrong by the car .
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Old 4th November 2011, 16:27   #477
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Re: Skoda Rapid based on VW Vento begins production. Launch on 16th November, 2011

If I may hazard a guess on the logic behind the Skoda Rapid's launch, it may have something to do with the spare production capacity that the VAG group has at it's Chakan plant. This plant was setup at a huge cost and AFAIK, it has a production capacity of 110,000 vehicles per annum. The basket of products currently being made there are:
Skoda Fabia (1400 # Oct2011), VW Polo (3340) , Vento (3474) , Jetta + Passat (546). Total : 8760 (Oct). However on a average, assuming around 8000 cars per month of sales of existing models. By adding the Rapid (which would have been less than 20 Cr investment to develop due to part similarity), they would aim for sales of another 1000# per month, under the Skoda brand. This car would also fill the gap on an entry level sedan below the Laura and at the same time, give VW access to more B class / Tier 2 cities where Skoda has a presence and VW currently does not. It will help VW take its plant utilization to 100% and also increase overall sales for the VW group.
It is a decent business strategy aimed at maximizing returns from resources.
Also, the profitability of sedan models in India is higher than their corresponding hatchback versions. Costwise, the incremental cost is not more than 30K rupees for a car of this class while the difference in selling price is higher by 1.2 lacs (resulting in higher profits for the sedan version).
Eventually for Skoda, Fabia buyers may also migrate to the Rapid, resulting in an improved portfolio mix for Skoda India and better profitability.


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Old 4th November 2011, 16:47   #478
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Re: Skoda Rapid based on VW Vento begins production. Launch on 16th November, 2011

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I am relieved that the Rapid doesn't come in a diesel AT avatar because that would have given me buyer's remorse like anything
Seconded! I was reading Carwale's review/first drive in the morning and was relieved to see that the rapid will lack a number of features, such as Bluetooth and steering mounted audio controls. The interiors are a bit bland too, with that gear stick looking very un-premium.

All in all, a good looking car and the AT on the middle variant might just do well even if it's a petrol. Depends on the pricing.
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Old 4th November 2011, 16:58   #479
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Re: Skoda Rapid based on VW Vento begins production. Launch on 16th November, 2011

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Originally Posted by noopster View Post
Mohit, it's a ploy to pull customers from the Verna. Even if Vento sales dip a bit thaks to the Rapid, it's almost certain that Vento+Rapid will be higher than Vento alone today, just as Fabia flanks the Polo in the hatch segment.
Sorry missed your post somehow. Well I do feel it will take off more people from the Vento then the Verna. May be shave off 500 from the verna and the city each and 7-800 from the Vento and stabilize around the 2k/month mark. Is it a profitable venture for the VW group overall in that case? I am not too sure.

Quote:
I am relieved that the Rapid doesn't come in a diesel AT avatar because that would have given me buyer's remorse like anything
Well but it would have indeed been a masterstroke right? Verna is the only diesel AT out there and it has poor back seat and non european built and doesn't enjoy the same brand image as the Skoda in terms of luxury. I feel they could have ruled the At segment for sure.
Oh I salute all you petrol AT drivers in the current pricing scenario. For the Altis I need to shell out 1600 Rs for every 650-700 kms and burn some calories too while shifting gears.
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Old 4th November 2011, 17:46   #480
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Re: Skoda Rapid based on VW Vento begins production. Launch on 16th November, 2011

Another addition I see here is that of the Ambition model, something which is absent in the Vento line-up. This model would be the deal breaker for people who can easily afford the Base model but the top model is a super stretch.
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