Skoda Slavia will debut later this year before going on sale in early 2022 and is the second Skoda product based on the India 2.0 project
Skoda Auto India has officially released a statement confirming that its upcoming midsize sedan for the domestic market will be called the ‘Slavia’. It is the second product to be spawned out of the India 2.0 project that has seen an investment of more than one billion euros over the last three years and it will be based on a heavily localised architecture.
The Czech Republican automaker introduced the Kushaq midsize SUV in July 2021 and the Slavia will strengthen the brand’s appeal in the premium space and it has already been spotted testing a number of times on public roads giving us a clear hint of what to expect. Just as the Kushaq, it sits on the MQB A0 IN platform with more than 90 per cent local content.
So, how did the Slavia name came about? Skoda said twelve months after the company was founded in 1896, Václav Laurin and Václav Klement marketed their first jointly developed bicycles under the very name, and the midsize sedan is hoped to ‘define a new era in the Indian market’ and it sounds interesting considering that we have rarely seen new midsize sedans launching in recent years.
The brand could be looking to capitalise on the successful run created by Rapid and the Slavia is expected to be positioned above the outgoing model. The Skoda Slavia will make its debut later this year and it will accompany the Octavia and Superb in the brand’s sedan portfolio. Zac Hollis, Brand Director, ŠKODA AUTO India, said:
“ŠKODA has a rich global legacy spanning more than 125 years. The SLAVIA name represents the beginning of a success story that has seen ŠKODA become one of the most renowned car makers. Rich in tradition, the SLAVIA name will now once again mark the start of a new era for the ŠKODA brand, in the Indian market.”
Riding on the momentum created by the launch of the Kushaq, which garnered more than 10,000 reservations since going on sale, Skoda has been investing in the ongoing expansion of its dealer network as it aims to widen the footprint to 225 touchpoints by the end of next year from the current presence across more than 100 cities with 165 sales and service touchpoints.