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Czech carmaker Skoda Auto is betting big on India as one of its key growth drivers in the future.
Dr H.C. Winfried Vahland, Chairman of the Board of Management, said at a press meet here on Friday evening that the company would “invest heavily” in emerging nations with the top priorities being India, China and Russia.
These three countries are expected to play a big role in helping Skoda achieve its global goal of 1.5 million cars by 2018. The company ended 2010 with 7.62 lakh units and hopes to wrap up this calendar with over eight lakh cars.
VW's target
Parent company, Volkswagen has also targeted 2018 as the year to attain its objective of being the world's largest automaker, ahead of General Motors and Toyota. Clearly, Skoda along with the slew of other brands in VW's kitty right from Audi, Porsche and Bentley to MAN and Scania will contribute to making this a reality.
Dr Vahland said Europe, which accounts for nearly 60 per cent of Skoda's sales, would see its share fall to 40 per cent by 2018 as the rest of the world takes over. This is pretty much in line with the strategy adopted by other European carmakers such as Peugeot, Renault and Fiat.
On Brazil
Unlike them, however, Skoda is not as upbeat on Brazil. “The growth story here is only five years old unlike China and India which have a longer track record. We will be a lot more cautious with our projections on Brazil, at least as of now,” a company official told Business Line .
Rapid's debut
Skoda plans to go flat out worldwide in the coming years by launching a model every six months. The Rapid, which rolled out of the Pune plant on Friday and will make its commercial debut shortly, is an important part of this strategy. It will compete in the entry level sedan segment which is in the Rs 5.5-7 lakh range.
After the India launch, the car will enter Europe and China during 2012-13. It is being produced on the same platform as the VW Vento and will be priced lower keeping in line with the overall strategy planned between the two companies.
Mr Jurgen Stackmann, Member of the Board of Management (Sales and Marketing), said the Rapid was a big step in Skoda's endeavour to build a bigger brand in India. The small/compact car segment will be the core of the company's focus and the Rapid (part of the upper compact slot) is the beginning in this direction.
The citigo
Skoda will logically bring in the sub-four metre Citigo compact, unveiled recently at the Frankfurt Motor Show, to India though it is not clear when this will happen. VW's Up will make its entry here first and the Citigo, which debuts in Europe soon, could follow towards end-2012.
The Chakan facility near Pune, referred to as the volumes plant, is home to VW and Skoda models which are produced on a common platform like the Polo/Fabia and Vento/Rapid. Aurangabad, the ‘variety plant', caters to top-end (and, hence, limited numbers) models of Audi, VW and Skoda.
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