No 2015 Fabia for India, says Skoda’s Pawel Szuflak

Skoda India’s Director for Sales and Marketing, Mr. Pawel Szuflak has ruled out the Fabia hatchback for India. The 2015 Fabia was recently web-revealed ahead of its official 2014 Paris Motor Show debut. The 2015 Fabia, which retains the PQ25 platform, will be Skoda’s B-Segment hatchback offering in Europe, sitting above the CitiGO. Production of the car has already begun at Skoda’s Bratislava manufacturing facility in the Czech Republic while European deliveries slated to happen by the end of this year.

A mass market car, the 2015 Fabia is larger than the outgoing car. The larger dimensions translate to more interior room. The car also uses a new range of turbo petrol and turbo diesel engines, which are also seen on the Euro-spec Volkswagen Polo hatchback. The 2015 Fabia comes loaded with new generation infotainment options, what with Skoda actively targeting younger buyers. Skoda has also dropped plans of making a high performance version of the Fabia, such as the now-discontinued Fabia vRS.

In India, the Rapid C-Segment sedan will continue to be Skoda’s entry level model. Skoda India plans to focus on the segments, beginning with the Rapid and above. The 2015 Fabia not making it to Indian shores means that Skoda will find it more difficult to garner good volumes here. The D-Segment sedan space in India, where the Octavia sits, is shrinking, and the luxury saloon segment, which has the Superb operating, is also a low volumes category.

Skoda’s optimistic pricing for the just-launched Yeti SUV Facelift, which is available only in top-end Elegance trims, means that the Czech car brand now has three products that are positioned at premiums in their respective segments. Only the Rapid sedan retains some semblance of value-pricing, and is likely to continue flying the best selling car flag in Skoda’s line up here. Meanwhile, an updated Rapid is due for a September 30th launch.

Via IndianAutosBlog