Fourth-Gen Skoda Octavia Launch Postponed as Covid-19 Cases Rise

Skoda Auto has been preparing for the fourth-generation Octavia’s launch in April. However, the Director of Sales and Marketing for Skoda Auto India, Zac Hollis has just announced on Twitter that they have to postpone the launch of the new Octavia due to the rising number of Covid-19 cases in India. This is a wise decision from the automaker as the second wave of Covid-19 has hit the country, and the government has had to enforce curfew protocols to curb the spread.

Posting on Twitter, Zac Hollis said, “Sometimes, it’s important to take a pause and come back stronger. We at Skoda Auto have postponed the launch of the all-new Octavia until the current situation improves. We will keep you updated on the launch developments. Stay safe and let us do our part to fight this virus.” This means there is no new date for the Octavia’s launch even though production has started and a few units have reached dealership yards already.

The fourth-generation Skoda Octavia is based on the VW group’s venerable MQB platform and is bigger than the outgoing model by being 19 mm longer and 15 mm wider. This translates to a bigger cabin and more legroom for the rear passengers. The all-new Octavia is more of an evolutionary change and comes with a similar design language, but the quad-headlamps of the outgoing model have been replaced by sleeker units. The Octavia which was spotted testing in India looks exactly the same as the model sold internationally.

Over to the interior of the new Skoda Octavia, it has been thoroughly revamped and comes with an entirely different layout. The cabin gets a premium looking beige-black two-tone theme while there’s a new twin-spoke steering wheel with classy knurled scroll wheels for multimedia controls. The dashboard is now horizontally layered, with a 10.25-inch all-digital instrument cluster called the Virtual Cockpit. Most of the buttons have been binned for a touchscreen infotainment system with integrated Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. Other features include a digital assistant, connected car technology, wireless phone charger, tri-zone climate control and more.

The Skoda Octavia will only be offered in petrol engine options when it launches. It will be powered by a 2-litre turbo-petrol which generates 190 PS of peak power. The automaker may also launch the 1.5-litre 150 PS turbo petrol engine as well. Both engines will be mated to a 7-speed DSG gearbox. Upon launch the Octavia will compete with the Hyundai Elantra and may be priced similarly around Rs 20 – Rs 24 lakh, ex-showroom. Its other competitor the Honda Civic has been discontinued in India.