It has been a while since Skoda has been testing the all-new Fabia hatchback which will be unveiled at the 2014 Paris Motor Show. This model is also speculated to be launched in India in 2015; however, nothing concrete on the same has been announced.
According to Financial Express, the Czech car manufacturer is also considering a new hatchback based on the Rapid platform. The development of the new hatchback is likely to start in next 6-9 months. Skoda India is also planning a high level of localization for its Rapid Sedan and the new hatchback.
Skoda has been facing a strong criticism over the high maintenance cost of its cars in the market. The higher level of localization will help the company to achieve a lower cost of maintenance in the longer term. The same strategy for the new hatchback will be implemented on the same.
Speaking to Financial Express, Mr. Sudhir Rao, managing director, Skoda Auto India said, “We are working on improving the Rapid, to develop it in a way that it is more Indian. Rapid is where our experiments begin to see how far can we merge the Czech and the Indian approach to product development. It will be a stepping stone to profitably bring another small car for the Indian market”.
“We are looking at multiple ways to fill that segment in the Fabia space. We do want to be somewhat of a volume player, though it is not our primary objective. More important is to run the business with customer satisfaction, which is financially sustainable and profitable. Volumes will follow when we are able to achieve the first two,” he further added.
Source: Financial Express
