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Manu P. Toms

Mumbai, Oct 28 Fabia Combi, Roomster and successors of Superb and Laura — the Czech-based Skoda, which is part of Volkswagen group, is planning to launch these four new models in India in 2009.

The new Superb will come in the first quarter of the next year while successor to Laura will be launched in the middle of the year.

Fabia Combi, the longer version of the premium hatchback model Fabia, is scheduled to be launched in the second half of 2009.

A top company executive said that there is a possibility of the compact MPV Roomster also hitting the market next year.

“Hundred per cent in the plan is the launch of the Superb successor in the first quarter and Laura successor in the middle of 2009. We will showcase the new Superb in November,” Mr Thomas Kuehl, Board Member (Sales & Marketing), Skoda Auto, told Business Line.

Mr Kuel said the company has launched two separate clinics to conduct feasibility studies for Fabia Combi and Roomster. “We hope people will prefer the five-seater Fabia Combi with a huge space to drive outside the city, to go to the countryside,” he said.

The car, which is positioned in the upper end of the C segment and priced below Rs 10 lakh, targets niche customers. “It is difficult to predict the market for Fabia Combi because it is not a preferred body style in the market. We start with the niche,” he said.

When the new version of high-end models Superb and Laura come to the market, the existing versions will be phased out. Superb is currently priced in the Rs 20-23 lakh bracket while Laura is in the range of Rs 13-15 lakh.

About prices of the new editions, Mr Kuehl said, “Prices are not finalised. We have to see the outcome. The successors come with more technology, more equipment, besides the design enhancement. There is a cost factor behind all these things. We are trying always to get these cars as competitive as possible to increase our market share.”

Skoda India sold more than 9,000 cars from April to September this year, showing a 68 per cent growth, compared with the corresponding period last year. He said that the company is hopeful about achieving its target of 20,000 unit sales during the current fiscal despite the negative trend in the market.

However, he admitted that the festival sales are not very exciting as the entire auto industry is struggling under the credit crunch. “We are getting so many enquiries but all of them are not converting into sales,” he said.

The company is expanding its dealerships from the current 56 to 65 by the end of 2008. The new dealerships will be in cities and towns including Kanpur, Delhi, Jaipur, Gandhidham, Tiruchi, Bangalore, Salem and Kottayam.

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