More details about Skoda's new cheap sedan and small car

In my earlier post I have talked about skoda coming up with a c-sedan segment taking on the likes of the Honda city,Chevrolet aveo, the suzuki sx4 and the Hyundai Verna/Accent.Some more details have come up courtesy autoexpress UK.

For starters the price tag,skoda plan to make the sedan keeping in mind the £10,000 tag[roughly Rs.8.5 lakhs].Although at this price it would come with AC and power windows expect skoda to skimp on all other goodies and expect this new sedan to be more on the lines of the earliest generation octavia[not the ones available in India],even in terms of size as well.

As far as how the car is,it is said to be based on the seat bolero platform A spy picture I post from the autoexpress website.

This new sedan would be sold worldwide by skoda and yes that means emerging markets like India and China as well apart from the traditional market of skoda in the european countries.This car would be powered by the tried and trusted 1.9TDi diesel and 2.0L petrol engines although the VW group are also considering smaller and more frugal engines as well.

Whether this new sedan would be called the new Octavia I am not so sure.But that looks unlikely.



Spy picture of the seat bolero hatch again from autoexpress.Now the seat bolero would be available both as a hatchback and a sedan and it its this very hatchback which could be the basis for skoda cheap hatchback as well.This hatchback to is expected by 2010 and is supposedly going to debut in the Indian markets first and then there will be a global launch.The price tag for this hatch is supposedly between Rs.3-5 lakhs.


[Source:autoexpress.co.uk]
[image source: Autoexpress UK]

Next generation Skoda Octavia due in 2009

Yes that's right the second generation octavia[Laura as we know in India] is due for a complete makeover in 2009 as per Skoda's product replacement cycle and various auto magazines abroad.

So far I have not found any spy pictures of the car but promise you to put them up as soon as I find them.

Skoda India have already promised us two new cars next year,one of which I have a hunch could be the fabia sedan and the other perhaps is the next generation Octavia.

Now what interests me most is what would skoda's strategy in India be.Would they sell three generations of the same car side by side.And call the third generation skoda in India, Natasha.

Skoda could lower prices of the first generation octavia to the c-segment levels,the second generation octavia[Laura] to the present octavia levels and price the third generation octavia[calling it natasha for the moment] at around the price of the Laura.The possible permutations and combination's are infinite and I think its best to wait and see what Skoda do in India.

Also read:
Skoda to launch C-segment sedan in 2009

Skoda India to Launch cheaper 1.6L Skoda Octavia

Coming soon the Skoda Octavia rival -VW Jetta

We shall soon see the Octavia's sibling the VW jetta on Indian roads.The launch date is likely between may and june,2008.Unlike earlier media predictions[where it was supposedly going to be priced alongside the Honda city] the Jetta is going to be launched in the Rs.13-15 lakhs category.
This will take it in Skoda Octavia category as well as pit it against the Skoda Laura too.Yes the jetta would be a much more modern offering compared to the octavia but if you ask me to pick between the Laura and the Jetta ,I would prefer the Skoda Laura.Not for nothing has the Laura[new generation octavia] been winning reliability awards year after year even beating japanese rivals while VW seem to be having lots of problems on this front.

Expect the Jetta to be similarly speced as the Laura.The jetta introduction could possibly be a killer blow for the Octavia.

Just Have to see how VW plan to sell their cars,i.e. will it be through existing skoda dealerships.

PS:Also part of the article from business standard were other cars from VW in the future.It said the polo and the production version of the UP concept would be here.The Polo would be priced at around Rs. 4.30 lakhs while the UP at around Rs. 1.80 lakhs.These cars would take some time to come to India however[upto 2012 even].

[Source:Business Standard]
[image source:nextcar,milteksport,paddocktalk,autocult]

Here's how the Skoda octavia came into the world.

Here are two videos of the first and second generation skoda octavias being tested by the company before launch[dated videos].Inspirational stuff for other automobile manufacturers as to how even testing of the vehicle has great marketing potential.

The First Generation Octavia:


The Second Generation Octavia[Known as the Laura in India]:

Coming soon-The Toyota Corolla Altis

So far Skoda has had a dream run in India but here's something which could seriously put and end to all that.There has been no real rival as such when it came to the D-segment cars[diesel].Yes the Optra magnum but brand Skoda seems to be too much stronger than GM as far as customers are concerned.

However all this could change because the Toyota Corolla Altis could be here very soon[remember a top official at Toyota had hinted an April Launch even] .The new corolla has been launched in most of the south east asian countries as the Corolla Altis and it looks like it could be the same for the Indian Markets too.What they have not got so far is the D4D engines which could very well come to India since Toyota knows more than you and me that there is huge potential for the diesel engine in India.It is precisely this engine which could give sleepless nights to Skoda since this car has the potential to even win over Skoda laura rivals forget the Octavia.
The Corolla Altis will get HID headlights,Rain sensing wipers,A multi information Display,Cruise control.Its how long the diesel engine would take to come here which may very well decide if the Altis is launched here by april or august[which I think is the worst case scenario].The only disappointment as such is that Toyota is most likely to leave out the Dual VVT-i engines for markets like ours.The existing engine could be tweaked a bit more as far as the petrol engine is concerned for the Altis.

So should Honda be worried,if the Diesel engine is launched in India then most definitely prospective Civic customers would move over to the Toyota camp and we will have a new leader in the segment ,else really speaking the Corolla[petrol] does not have that extra special ingredient which would help it overshadow the Civic.Without the diesel engine even Skoda would not be too worried.

So please Toyota do answer our prayers and get the D4D engines as well for the corolla.

Update:
Please read:
Toyota to launch Diesel Corolla after all.

Also read:
Toyota claim the next generation corolla is the hottest ever-Here's some of the reasons why

Skoda reduce prices of the Octavia.

Skoda have reduced prices of the octavia.The octavia now starts from Rs.9,90,000 onwards.This is for the Octavia ambiente.What the features available in the ambiente at these prices I am not sure but you get the 1.9TDi engine and 2 years unlimited kilometers warranty.

About time Skoda reduced prices of the Octavia considering it is an obsolete model internationally.The newer generation Octavia is sold here in the Indian markets as the Laura.However even now I know of more than a few disappointed folks who where expecting much more of a drastic price cut for the Octavia.

Also Read:
Next generation Skoda Octavia due in 2009

Skoda India to Launch cheaper 1.6L Skoda Octavia

Skoda want to cash in further on the popularity of the octavia and now want to target consumers from the lower segments.Skoda now plan to introduce a cheaper 1.6L variant of the octavia.Though no mention has been made of whether it would be a petrol or diesel engine,in all probabilty it would be a petrol engine only[FSI or MPI not sure about that].

This move has been preempted by the recent price reduction of the Skoda laura in the form of a new variant the Ambiente[Ex-showroom price between 12.90lakhs to 13.21 lakhs depending on city ]which would have cannibalized sales of the Octavia.

Mr Karsten Bogun, Managing Director of the company, said: “We are looking at various updates on the Octavia, it ranges from style to powertrain but it would be premature to talk about it; we have not finalised anything on it as yet.”

However it would be interesting to see if Skoda manage to price the octavia on par with the Honda city,what Skoda need to keep in mind is thats its diesel engines are the main reason for the popularity of the Skoda brand apart from the German build quality,a diesel engine from skoda at that price level would be a killer blow.Also Skoda may have to compete with its inhouse rival the VW Jetta with VW too having similar plans.However one thing is clear this aging model is not going to die out in a hurry.

[Source:Hindu]

Related post:
Skoda India Launches the Laura Ambiente