Skoda's perspective for Indian Market- Mr. Pawel Szuflak
With the introduction of new Skoda Superb in the Indian car market, the Czech automaker aims to capitalize on the vacant D plus sedan segment. It is a well known fact that currently it is the only premium sedan in its league, as its closest competitors Honda Accord and Volkswagen Passat are under re-construction and are not available on sale. Moreover, Skoda Auto India is also aiming to maintain its premiumness, which is visible, as in recent times the company introduced all premium products in the market. Whereas, other carmakers are running towards the growing compact car segment Last year, the company introduced its all-new Octavia and this year, at 2014 Auto Expo, it unveiled the facelifted Yeti and Superb sedan. At the launch of new-edition Skoda Superb, we got a chance to interact with Mr. Pawel Szuflak, Director Sales Marketing Skoda India, which revealed some interesting information about the company's plans and future products.
Speaking on the sales of Skoda Superb, Mr. Szuflak said that we managed to sell around 100 units of Superb in the market and this number, with the new Superb, is expected to be increased by upto 150 units in the near future. It has been an important product for us, it represents the premiumness of our brand.
In recent times, it is evident that the company is in a mood to revamp its entire lineup. Like we mentioned, the company launched new Octavia and Superb facelift, while unveiled the facelifted Yeti SUV. However, Skoda Rapid is the one car which is yet to see a major updation. Commenting on this, Mr. Szuflak said that the Skoda Rapid is a special product for the company, and currently it is the only product in our portfolio which target the masses. We have been regularly updating the Rapid, as recently this sedan received lots of chrome enhancements which makes it look upmarket. However, the company is planning to introduce the new-edition of Rapid, which could soon make its debut in the market. Adding to it, Skoda India introduced the limited edition Rapid sedan, which accounts for the 30 per cent of the total sales of the car. This give us an idea about the company's aim of introducing different avatars of its existing products to improve sales in the market.
After sales service and dealership network has been a big problem with Skoda Auto India in the country. Asserting on the same, He said that we currently have 98 dealerships in 70 cities of the country. Our main focus is to provide good customer care service to our existing buyers and future customers. We are steadily working to improve our dealership network in the country.
On being asked about the company's only hatchback, Fabia, Mr. Szulfak asserted that the production of the current generation Fabia has been stopped, however we are still selling the hatchback in the market, which we expect could be the move to exhaust the remaining stock. He also confirmed that the new Skoda Fabia is under consideration, and the company will bring the new model in India. Not this year, but the next year the new Fabia could hit the Indian shores.
Seeing the demand for sub-4 metre compact cars, we asked Mr. Pawel Szuflak about their plans for the compact cars. Commenting on the same, He said that we are currently focusing on our current lineups, however our team is studying the market. We are seeking an opportunity to introduce compact cars in the Indian market. On being asked about plans for sub-4 metre sedan, he said, " We are considering a sub-4 metre sedan, however it is quite early to comment on the same".
We expect that Skoda India could introduce a compact sedan, which is likely to be the stripped down version of the Rapid sedan.