Skoda India, a part of the Volkswagen group headquartered at Wolfsburg, Germany, has just announced big plans for the Indian market. The Czech car maker will invest nearly a billion Euros or about Rs. 7,900 crores in India to put its plans into action. Skoda will first launch a compact SUV that will directly take on the Hyundai Creta. The new SUV will sit on the MQB-A0 platform, a low-cost platform engineered from the MQB platform that is meant for developing markets, such as India and Brazil. The new SUV will be based on the Skoda Vision X platform, which was recently unveiled. Here’s what the Skoda compact SUV will look like.
Skoda is yet to announce powertrain details for the new compact SUV but it’s safe to assume that it’ll be offered with both petrol and diesel engines. In fact, the Volkswagen group plans to localize the 1.0 litre-3 cylinder turbocharged petrol engine in India, and this very motor is expected to feature in the new Skoda compact SUV.
Both manual and automatic gearbox options are likely with this engine, which is expected to have an output between 100-120 Bhp. The diesel is likely to be a cleaner version of the 1.5-litre TDI turbocharged motor. All new engines that Skoda and Volkswagen will introduce with their new range of cars will be Bharat Stage 6 emission norms compliant.
The new SUV will make its debut in 2020, and could go on sale in the same year or perhaps in 2021. Exact timelines will be revealed shortly. The new Skoda compact SUV will continue to offer premium fit and finish levels, and upmarket positioning. However, it’ll be priced competitively enough to challenge the Hyundai Creta directly. A starting price tag close to the Rs. 10 lakh mark is expected for the new Skoda SUV, which will also have a sibling under the Volkswagen badge. However, both SUVs will have distinct styling to ensure maximum differentiation. The rest of the mechanicals will be shared though.
Here is the official video of the Vision X from Skoda
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