The Karoq was Skoda’s only SUV offering in the Indian market, however, the Czech carmaker will soon be launching a new SUV in the form of the Kushaq
At the 2020 Auto Expo last year, Skoda Auto first revealed the Karoq mid-size SUV and launched the car in the country a few months later. It should be noted that the Karoq was imported to the country under the new import rule which allows manufacturers to bring 2,500 CBU vehicles to the country without having to homologate them.
A total of 1,000 units of the Skoda Karoq were imported to India, and it was also previously reported that the German-owned Czech carmaker was considering local assembly of the SUV. However, the Karoq’s future in India is now unclear, with Skoda having removed the SUV from its official website.
The Karoq shares its underpinnings with the Volkswagen T-Roc, also imported to the country as a CBU. Based on the MQB-A0 platform, the Karoq came equipped with a sole 1.5-litre turbocharged TSI petrol engine churning out 150 PS of maximum power, and 250 Nm of peak torque. The engine came mated to a 7-speed DSG auto gearbox as standard.
While the Karoq is gone, Skoda is working on launching a new mid-size SUV that will rival the likes of the Hyundai Creta and Kia Seltos in the country. Known as the Kushaq, the car will become the first VW Group car to be based on the heavily localised MQB-A0 IN platform, and is all set to make its world premiere in March 2021.
As of now, Skoda’s Indian portfolio consists of only three offerings, namely Rapid, Octavia RS 245 and the Superb. Since the Kodiaq hasn’t been launched in a BS6-compliant form yet, the Karoq was the only Skoda SUV on sale in India. The Skoda Karoq was available in a single fully-loaded variant that was priced at Rs 24.99 lakh (ex-showroom).
On the other hand, the new Kushaq is expected to be priced much lower. According to Skoda, the Kushaq has been 93 per cent localised, which will help the carmaker price it aggressively. The said SUV will be offered with two different powertrains – a 1.0-litre turbo-petrol TSI unit, as well as a bigger 1.5-litre TSI engine.