Skoda Rapid endured only 6 per cent negative growth in June 2020 and it finished third in the C-segment for sedans’ sales
Skoda Auto India posted a total of 790 units in June 2020 as against 987 units during the corresponding period in 2019 with Year-on-Year negative sales growth of 20 per cent. Compared to the previous month of May 2020, when the Czech Republican automaker garnered 508 units, the Month-on-Month volume growth stood at a highly appreciable 56 per cent.
Nearly 1,17,000 passenger cars were sold in the domestic market last month and it was at a volume decline of 47.2 per cent over the same period in June 2019. Skoda finished only twelfth ahead of Nissan and FCA as the Rapid was the most sold model within the brand’s local range with a total of 577 units. Compared to the same period in 2019, the Rapid endured a negative growth of only 6 per cent.
In May 2020, Skoda registered 291 units and it led to MoM volume increase of 98 per cent. The C-segment sedan competes against Maruti Suzuki Ciaz, Honda City, Hyundai Verna and Volkswagen Vento but the sales tally in the space has certainly decreased in recent times. Last month, the YoY de-growth of only 6 per cent resulted in the Rapid encountering the least volume drop in the whole of the car industry.
| Models With Least De-Growth (YoY) | Unit Sales In June 2020 |
| 1. Skoda Rapid (-6%) | 577 |
| 2. Hyundai Creta (-14%) | 7,207 |
| 3. Maruti Suzuki Celerio (-15%) | 4,145 |
| 4. Ford Freestyle (-15%) | 506 |
| 5. Mahindra Scorpio (-16%) | 2,574 |
The Creta had the second least de-growth of 14 per cent but it had the highest sales amongst the five listed below at 7,207 units while the Celerio and Freestyle posted -15 per cent growth and the Scorpio registered 2,574 units with 16 per cent YoY sales fall. The Rapid finished third in the segment in monthly sales and was only 8 units shy of the second-placed Honda City.
With the recently launched facelifted Hyundai Verna performing decently in sales and the Honda City is getting a brand new generation midway through this month, the segment’s sales numbers are expected to improve in the coming months.
The replacement for the Rapid based on the heavily localised MQB A0 IN platform is expected to arrive sometime in 2022 and until then, the existing model will roll on. The BSVI compliant Rapid 1.0 TSI was introduced a while ago with a starting price of Rs. 7.49 lakh (ex-showroom) for the base Rider trim.
It uses the 1.0-litre three-cylinder petrol engine, which is good enough to generate a maximum power output of 110 PS at 5,000 rpm and 175 Nm of peak torque at 1,750 rpm. The engine is paired with a six-speed manual transmission. It replaced the 1.6-litre naturally-aspirated unit that produced 100 PS. The BSVI Skoda Rapid is the most affordable C-segment sedan sold in India currently.