Skoda's new sedan is now SKODA RAPID

Earlier being touted as Skoda Lauretta, the next Czech manufacturer’s new offering in the Indian Automobile market will now officially be called as Skoda Rapid. And that got just confirmed with the green signal given for its production in the Skoda India’s Chakan production plant near Pune.

With the exit of Skoda Octavia, there was a missing gap in the offering from this Czech manufacturer especially in the sedan segment. Today Skoda has announced the production start of their entry level compact sedan Skoda Rapid to fill this gap between Fabia & Laura.

 

Official statement coming from Prof. Dr. Winfried Vahland, Chairman of the Board of Management, SKODA Auto a.s. “Today is the official Start of Production for the Indian variant of our new Rapid compact saloon. Effective immediately, the first unit of the SKODA Rapid will be rolling off the line in this plant. The car will be introduced in the market shortly. It is an attractive car with lots of space and room for five people."

Rapid would be available in both versions i.e. petrol & diesel engines & its manufacturing would be done entirely at its Chakan plant. The engines would seem to be shared with VW Vento offering a 1.6 litre both in diesel & petrol. Also expect the interiors to offer the same sort of space and comfort as the VW.

Skoda Lauretta ready for launch this October

The all new much-awaited sedan segmented offering from Skoda is ready for launch, previously known as Skoda Rapid now renamed as ‘Skoda Lauretta’ will be out in the Indian market on 7th of Oct, 2011, with deliveries starting from December 2011. Though no official announcement has been made by the company about the price of its new sedan but it is expected that Skoda Lauretta will be priced very competitively at Rs. 7,00,000 for the base petrol model and Rs. 8,00,000 for the base model of diesel.

The Lauretta is a C-segment sedan which will be powered by the same petrol and diesel engine which are doing the duty under the label of their cousin sedan Volkswagen Vento. So it means that this model will come with a 1.6-litre - 4 Cylinder, 8 Valve, 105bhp petrol with 153 Nm torque and a 1.6-litre - 4 Cylinder, 8 Valve, 105bhp diesel with 250 Nm torque, mated to a five-speed manual transmission.

Based on the Fabia platform Lauretta will compete with cars like VW Vento, Hyundai Verna, Ford Fiesta, Honda City and the SX4.

 The top-of-the-line models are expected to feature power windows, power steering, 2-DIN music system with AUX-in and USB port, automatic climate controls system, remote central locking, head adjustment for driver's seat, electric adjustment for the outside rear-view mirrors, alloy wheel, front and rear fog lamps, dual SRS airbags, ABD and EBD.

Various variants offerings & feature list could be –

Variants		Features
Petrol	Skoda Lauretta Petrol Active	Dual Tone Interiors, Molded Door Trims, Adjustable Headlamps, Genuine leather wrapped steering wheel and gearshift knob, Rear defogger, steering adjustment (optional), rear AC vents, tinted glasses, MP3 player with USB and Aux in connectivity, airbags, Parking Sensors, Traction Control, ESP (Electronic Stability Control), rear armrest, leather upholstery, adjustable driver seat, dual AC with climate control, central console digital display, Key less entry, Anti-theft system.
	Skoda Lauretta Petrol Ambition
	Skoda Lauretta Petrol Elegance
Diesel	Skoda Lauretta Diesel Active	Same as the above features from Petrol variant except for the Diesel accomplice
	Skoda Lauretta Diesel Ambition
	Skoda Lauretta Diesel Elegance

Peugeot to follow Volkswagen's strategy in India

Peugeot Citroen, the French car maker is raring up to enter the Indian market very soon. The French company, which is the only large automaker not present in India, would be using the top-down strategy in the Indian market which was adopted earlier by the big names of Volkswagen and Toyota.

They are aiming to position a premium sedan which will compete with Volkswagen’s Passat before gradually shifting to lower segments. It will, in fact, be a re-entry for Peugeot, which had exited the country more than a decade ago after it suffered consistent losses.

Peugeot is gunning for the launch of their premium sedan - Peugeot 508 in India before the end of year 2012. The car is expected to be shelved in the price segment of Rs 20 to 25 lakh where it will be taking on the likes of not only Volkswagen Passat but also have to compete for space against Honda Accord, Toyota Camry, Nissan Teana and the Superb from SkodaAuto.

Volkswagen, too, had marked an India entry with the launch of the Passat in 2007 before moving onto other models, both in upper and lower ends. After positioning its brand at the premium end, the German major finally launched the Polo (a compact car) in 2010, its cheapest car yet.

Recently, France’s second-largest car maker, Renault, adopted a similar strategy, making a re-entry with the launch of the Fluence premium sedan, in an attempt to shed its image as a manufacturer of the no-frills Logan sedan.

Peugeot is also aiming for a launch in the premium hatchback segment in India, which is also the fastest growing segment in the country. According to sources, the company is looking to enter the segment where models such as Maruti Suzuki Swift, Ritz, Nissan Micra, VW Polo and Hyundai i20 are already present. Primarily, the car company is considering launching Peugeot 107, 206 and 207, currently being sold in European markets.

Sources are saying that Peugeot is now looking at unveiling at least some of its models at the next Delhi Auto Expo in first quarter of 2012.