The Hindu Business Line : Skoda to launch diesel version of Elegance soon

CAR manufacturer Skoda Auto India is gearing up to launch a diesel automatic version of the Skoda Elegance in the next few weeks and will follow this up with a spate of launches till 2009.

The company is also in the initial phase of setting up an R&D centre at its manufacturing facilities at Shendre at Aurangabad, Mr Sashank Vaid, Manager-Marketing, told Business Line.

Mr Vaid, who was in Pune to launch Skoda RS, said the automatic diesel engine car is being put together right now at Shendre and said the new product would open up a new market for the company.

``Other than a Mercedes, no other car offers this option in diesel and this could mean that we get to tap a new segment of the potential luxury car buyer,'' he said.

The company sold 4,500 cars last year of which the Elegance constituted 40 per cent, he added.

The company is also right now in the planning stage for a research and development centre which will work towards adding value for its customers, Mr Vaid said.

``It is too early to say what role the centre will play - that will be decided by market dynamics and our expansion and growth plans,'' he said.

Meanwhile, the company is expecting the newly launched Skoda RS, to fuel growth with its distinctive positioning as the family rallying car. Being positioned as the fastest car in its segment with the country's first turbo petrol engine, the car promises a 0-100 kmph in 8.4 seconds.

``The car is a unique combination of speed, power, sporty looks and retains the quality that the Skoda car represents,'' he said.

Skoda Auto India, which was set up in November 2001, is now revving up for increased growth over the next couple of years, according to Mr Vaid who pointed out that the company has already sold close to 5,000 units of the car in the first eight months of the calendar year as against the 4,500 units sold in the whole of last year.

The company is now expanding capacities from the level of 15,000 units just now at Shendre to budget for the increased sales that will come from the recent launches and the spate of new products that are expected to roll out.

The company is already well past the planned investment of $56 million , Mr Vaid added.

Skoda has four models in the country currently - the top-end Skoda L&K, the Elegance, the Ambiente, the Rider and the Superb which are distributed through a network of 34 dealerships.

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