Friday, May 20th, 2011 Whats ? | Special Posts | Entertainment Star | Upcoming Cars | Upcoming Bikes

Skoda India plans sub-Rs 10 lakh SUV

Skoda, Upcoming Cars | By Mohd Asrar | May 20, 2011 at 4:59 pm |

2011_Skoda-Fabia_Scout

Skoda Auto, a Volkswagen subsidiary, plans to launch mini-sports utility vehicle (SUV) priced below Rs 10 lakh. This is the first time a global company is looking to introduce an SUV in this price segment.

Big international companies such as Mitsubishi, Toyota, General Motors, Hyundai and Skoda sell SUVs in India, but at prices above Rs 15 lakh. The Skoda product will directly challenge Indian companies, which offer cheaper options. Mahindra & Mahindra’s Scorpio is priced between Rs 7.43 lakh and Rs 12.39 lakh, while Tata Motors’ Safari Dicor costs between Rs 8 lakh and Rs 13 lakh.

Recently Fabia Scout mini crossover was spotted around Pune. So according to me the said SUV might be the Skoda Fabia Scout.

Now the Scout is essentially a Fabia with bigger wheels, better ground clearance, plastic side cladding, a sportier look and most importantly, a 4×4 option. The engine options for the SUV version of the hatch will also be altered, with the 1.6-liter diesel found in the Vento making for an obvious choice. There may be some additional goodies within the cabin too to justify the higher price tag.

Skoda’s new SUV could also pose a challenge in the luxury mid-sized sedan market, which includes Honda City, Volkswagen Vento and Hyundai Verna.

Thomas Kuehl, a member of the board in charge of sales and marketing, Skoda Auto India, said: “The SUV segment is not growing as fast as was expected. We have to go down and are looking at a product priced below Rs 10 lakh.” Kuehl, however, did not say by when the model would be launched.

“We have over 25 per cent share in the D segment with Superb and 16.5 per cent share in the segment that has Laura. We are working to increase our presence in the SUV category,” said Kuehl.


Also see - Spied – Skoda Fabia Scout

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Bajaj Auto Limited (BAL), the leading Indian Two wheeler-maker, launched its popular 220 cc bike Bajaj Pulsar with a minor facelift in the form of a new colours and graphics. The colours are still the old ones but now feature dual tone paint, to make the Pulsar stand out of the populated Pulsar motorcycles on the road. From the initial details we have about this facelift, the two tone Bajaj Pulsar 220 is already on Bajaj showroom floors. The front fairing, handlebars and grab rails are now completely black, while the crank is finished in silver colour. The silver treatment from the engine has been extended to the foot pegs as well. The red coloured Pulsar 220 is now half black. In essence, Bajaj seems to have taken a leaf out of Hero Honda’s book by giving the Pulsar 220 a paint job. As we report earlier, Mr Rajiv Bajaj was officially quoted as saying that a new ‘upgrade’ for the Pulsar will be introduced sometime soon? Now it seems that stock clearance is the motive behind this two tone extravaganza. The Pulsar turns 10 this October and Bajaj Auto needs to clear inventory to make way for the new model. The new paint job and graphics will help in just that. Now Bajaj Auto can just not miss that historic date, and what better way to celebrate a decade of the grand success that the Pulsar has been, than introducing a next-gen model. Also see - Bajaj Auto plans to launch new Pulsar by September 2011