Indian Autos blog

Just when we finished reviewing the Skoda Laura vRS, we were hit by another good news from the Skoda camp. The Czech auto company has rolled off 1.5 millionth Skoda Octavia II (Laura for us Indians) from company’s main plant in Mladá Boleslav on Wednesday donning a white outfit.

For the past 15 years, the Octavia has been a brand shaper for the company not only in the Indian market but also for the international regions.

The Octavia single handedly established Skoda presence in India which was later enjoyed by siblings Fabia, Superb Yeti and Rapid.

In India, nobody knows whether the Octavia is dead or still kicking. The company’s new all-rounder sedan is called the Rapid. The Octavia II is sold as the Laura in India and is doing very well in its segment. So is it safe to assume that our beloved ‘Octavia’ has been confined to the pages of history or is there something we haven’t seen yet?

The Indian subsidiary of Skoda Auto is gearing up for a sea of change by giving up an India-specific tag line in favor of an international slogan, Live Mint has written.

The currently standing “Obsessed with quality since 1895” will be dropped for “Simply Clever” by December 2011. Skoda had unveiled a new logo at the Geneva Motor Show in March and simultaneously showed a design study that will lead the design direction of future Skoda models. “Simply Clever” is expected to appear on marketing campaigns all over the world.

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WhatCar reports that Skoda will bring a concept bigger than Fabia to the Frankfurt Motor Show in September. In the production form, the hatchback will sit between the Fabia and Octavia. Besides this, Skoda will unveil the Vento-based Rapid to the global audience expected to hit our market next year.

Above the Fabia there’s a wide open space. There’s no model, in India and internationally between the Fabia and the Laura (branded Octavia in Europe) which is based on the previous-generation VW Golf except for the Roomster.

As the Laura is roomy and big vehicle, a smaller car is in need. The Rapid and the XL hatch will sit at two different points between 6-12 lakh rupees.

We hope Skoda doesn’t bring out a Laura hatchback as that won’t make any sense for India, a key market for Skoda. A source has told WhatCar that the concept car is about 85% production-ready meaning it will be similar to the Etios concept – nothing drastic will change or leave when it turns into a real-world car.

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Unlike the Indian scenario, Skoda has always been perceived as the common man’s car. It does its job and quietly sits in the corner of the VW home without drawing too much attention. The reason being if it attracted too much attention, it would invade big daddy VW’s target market. Most Skodas are essentially nothing but skimped up VWs. And the place where the cost cutting is more evident is  [ Read More ]

Skoda Auto recently produced its 100,000th 1.2 liter TSI petrol engine at its engine and transmission manufacturing plant in Mladá Boleslav in Czechoslovakia. The 1.2 TSI (Turbocharged Stratified Injection) engine is used on the Fabia, Octavia, Yeti and the Roomster. The engine is also used in other Volkswagen models and various Seat small cars.

This turbocharged petrol engine comes in two different states of tune, a 84 hp version and a 103 hp version. This Fabia with a 1.2 TSI engine mated to a 7-speed twin-clutch DSG gearbox, is capable of delivering 19 kmpl.

Reinhard Jung, Chairman , Škoda Auto -

This is another milestone in the 110-year history of engine production in Mladá Boleslav. The massive demand for the 1.2 TSI shows that our engines with optimized consumption are the right direction.

Sadly the Indian market does not get this turbocharged 1.2 liter 4-cylinder motor, we only get a 1.2 liter HTP 3-cylinder unit on the Fabia.

Skoda could be introducing the 1.2 liter TSI petrol engine on the Indian Fabia when it launches the updated version of the Fabia in October 2010.

Also the 1.2 TSI engine could be powering a lot of other Skoda and VW models in India. The upcoming Octavia replacement, Skoda Felicia could be powered by the 1.2 TSI engine.

The Octavia has served well, both India and the Skoda brand for almost ten years

Unlike the Laura and Superb, Skoda India has taken a stand to not upgrade the decade old Octavia to meet the stricter BS IV emission standards.

The 1.9 TDI Pumpe Duse diesel engine which it currently works on will not be upgraded on the Octavia either. VW is also phasing this engine out on the Jetta, which will get a new 2.0-liter CRDI engine.

Skoda Octavia will thus be available only in Bharat III cities.

The new Skoda will use parts from the Laura and Fabia and sit inbetween

Skoda, the Czech unit of Volkswagen AG, will soon introduce a low-cost family saloon that will take on the Renault/Dacia Logan. Given the demand for low cost cars and the absence of an affordable sedan in the Skoda India line-up, it doesn’t take a lot of thinking to guess whether or not India will be on its list of markets.

CEO Reinhard Jung announced that inside the next three years, Skoda will bring in the low-budget sedan. Speculations are plenty about the target price but sources say the estimate is around 10,000-12,000 Euros (6.83 lakh to 8.20 lakh as per today’s exchange rate). Intense localization could bring costs further down in India but it too early to predict anything.

Whats more, the new car will be laid between the Laura and Fabia and would borrow components from both the models.

Sales of low-cost cars have reached new heights around the world and Skoda wants to capitalize on this opportunity. Skoda’s product line-up also has several empty seats and its about time those are filled up.

Skoda will launch the new Octavia, which according to reports uses the Polo platform, and enters India within the next one year. The Polo’s platform is also used to make the Fabia, and both roll out of the same factory.

So is the new Skoda Octavia and the Skoda’s Logan slayer one and the same? Guess we have to wait and see.

After seeing the launch of the new Superb and the refreshed Laura last month, the Skoda Octavia should feel miserably left out. Skoda’s first offering in the country and remains largely the same, the exciting vRS version came and left during this tenure, and so did the unappealing Combi version.

The Octavia technically belongs to the earlier generation of models; its latest iteration is the Laura, which is the Octavia in other parts of the world. Skoda won’t call the shots as Indians place faith on tried-and-tested cars, the Octavia being one such.

8,000 units of the Laura and Octavia have made it to Indian homes in 2008-09 period. This number is second only to the Honda Civic in the D-Segment. Such strong numbers has prompted Skoda to think of giving the Octavia (which is sold as the Octavia Tour overseas) a much welcome revision.

Skoda has planned to continue to Octavia in the Indian market. In a few years time, the Octavia wears new clothes and the underlying platform would itself be revamped. Details have not been disclosed, but it is clear the car would roll out of the Chakan plant.