Skoda Cars Launching in India in 2021 - New-gen Rapid To Kushaq

The Volkswagen group is renewing its push to become a major player in the Indian car industry with its India 2.0 strategy, with Skoda India firing the opening salvo. It intends on launching 2 brand new sedans and 1 SUV for the Indian market next year.

Skoda Rapid replacement: All-new mid-size sedan 

The Skoda Rapid is getting a bit long in the tooth, especially compared to its much newer rivals. Instead of releasing a new generation of the Rapid, Skoda is planning an all-new replacement instead. Though we don’t know much about this new mid-size model, we do know that it will be underpinned by the new MQB A0 IN platform which is shared by the Vision IN Concept (we’ll get to it in a minute) and is internally designated as the Skoda ANB. 

Powering the car will be a 1.0-litre three-pot which is already in use in the Volkswagen Polo, Vento, and the current Rapid. It has max power and torque figures of 108 PS and 175Nm and will be mated by a 6-speed manual transmission. The ANB is slated to be launched in India by the end of 2021 and it will compete with the likes of the 5^th-gen Honda City, the all-new Hyundai Verna, Maruti’s Ciaz, and its Rapid sibling the Volkswagen Vento

Skoda Octavia 

The latest generation Skoda Octavia was supposed to go on sale in September last year, but the covid-19 pandemic quashed any such plans and now it has been postponed to an early 2021 release. The new model is more of an evolution of the current model than a radical overhaul. Though the wheelbase remains the same, it is a wee-bit bigger by being 15mm wider and 19mm longer, something which you’ll need a magnifying glass to notice. It gets new LED headlamps and LED DRLs flanking the wider grille while on the rear it gets new split LED lamps and more spacing on the Skoda logo.

The interior gets a more noticeable change, with a 10.25-inch virtual cockpit and a 10-inch touchscreen infotainment system with Apple Carplay and Android Auto supported out of the box as well as getting Skoda’s own Smartlink+ technology. It will get two engine options with one being a 1.5-litre TSI motor which already does duty in the Skoda Karoq and Volkswagen T-Roc. It produces max power and torque figures of 148 PS/240 Nm while the bigger 2.0-litre TSI motor churns out 187 PS, with both being mated to a 7-speed DSG gearbox.

Skoda Kushaq

The Vision IN concept was showcased by Skoda at the 2020 AutoExpo. Recently, the Czech carmaker has confirmed that it will be called as Kushaq. It will be available with two engine options. One is the 1.0-litre TSI making 108 PS and 175Nm of peak power and torque, mated to a 6-speed manual or torque converter auto. The other is the 1.5-litre TSI which makes 148 PS and 240 Nm and will be driven by a 7-speed DSG gearbox. The production version of the Skoda Vision IN (Skoda Kushaq) has already been spotted testing on Indian roads and should reach showrooms by mid-2021.