Thanks to the Kushaq SUV, Skoda’s sales in the Indian market have seen a massive Year-on-Year increase of around 131 per cent
Skoda Auto India has just released its sales figures for September 2021, and the Czech manufacturer has reported an extremely impressive growth. Sales grew by nearly 131 per cent on a Year-on-Year (YoY) basis, from just 1,312 cars sold in September 2020 to 3,027 cars sold last month.
The primary reason for the brand’s strong sales growth is the Kushaq, which was launched back in June this year. The SUV is available with two engine options – a 1.0L turbo-petrol unit (115 PS/178 Nm) and a 1.5L turbo-petrol unit (150 PS/250 Nm). Deliveries of the latter commenced later, in August 2021, and just a few days ago, new variants were added to the Kushaq’s range.
The Kushaq was the first vehicle to be launched under the VW Group’s India 2.0 scheme, and it is underpinned by the India-specific ‘MQB A0 IN’ platform. The same platform was also utilized by Volkswagen for the Taigun, which was launched in India last month. The Taigun gets the same powertrain options as the Kushaq, but has completely different exterior and interior styling.
Last month, the carmaker had reported that it has received over 10,000 bookings for the Kushaq, which is an impressive feat. Mr. Zac Hollis, Brand Director – ŠKODA AUTO India, said, “ŠKODA AUTO India has managed to consolidate and move forward in September, despite the headwinds that the industry is facing in terms of some key components.”
“We are confident of building our momentum, as we approach the festive season, and look forward to delivering an increasing number of ŠKODA vehicles across the country. India continues to be an important market for us globally, and we are focussing on strengthening our presence here,” he said.
Skoda India is currently working on a new sedan for the Indian market, which will serve as a replacement for the slow-selling Rapid. This upcoming vehicle will be slightly larger in dimensions than the Rapid, and will get a lot of new features and equipment. This upcoming model will also be based on the MQB A0 IN platform, and it is expected to debut before the end of this year.