Skoda Karoq SUV is coming back to India through the local assembly route

Skoda is planning to bring back the Karoq in India. However, this time the SUV is expected to be a CKD(Completely Knocked Down) instead of a CBU(Completely Built Unit). Till now there has only been one batch of Karoq that came to India. It had 1,000 units and was sold in just 5 months by October 2020. According to a new RTO document, the Karoq can soon return to India. Zac Hollis, director of Skoda stated that the local assembly of the Karoq depends on how popular the Karoq gets and on its sales numbers.

As we can see that Karoq was quite successful in India. We hope that this time Skoda brings the Karoq as a CKD(Completely Knocked Down) unit, this will help in lowering the cost to Skoda so there is a slight chance that the manufacturer decreases its price. Currently, the Skoda Karoq cost Rs. 24.99 lakhs ex-showroom. Despite being on an expensive side, the Karoq sold performed really well and bringing it back as a Completely Knocked Down unit would be great for the manufacturer.

As said earlier, it would drop the costs down, which will allow more people to afford the SUV. People want to buy the Skoda’s SUV, but there was only Kodiaq available which costs quite a bit of money. So, people were waiting for a more affordable SUV that offered the features and premium quality levels of the Skoda but is not so pricey. Karoq also has a sister SUV, which is offered from Volkswagen. It is the T-Roc which was also sold out in 2020. It costs Rs. 19.99 lakhs ex-showroom and Volkswagen has already announced that they will be bringing back the T-Roc for the Indian market.

Also read: Skoda”s Vision IN compact SUV: Hyundai Creta rival to launch in India next year

Skoda Karoq was offered in only one fully loaded variant. It came with a 10.25-inch Virtual Cockpit or digital instrument cluster, 12-way electrically adjustable driver seat with lumbar support, a memory function for the driver seat, ambient lighting, 8-inch touchscreen infotainment system with Android Auto, Apple CarPlay, navigation and 8-speaker sound system. There is also a load of safety equipment on offer. For instance ESC (Electronic Stability Control), iBuzz driver alert system, ASR (Anti Slip Regulation), EDS (Electronic Differential Lock), headlamp washers and 9 airbags.

It is offered in just one petrol engine. It is a 1.5-litre, four-cylinder TSI petrol unit and is capable of producing 150 PS of max power and a peak torque output of 250 Nm. It is only offered with a 7-speed Dual Clutch Automatic gearbox that drives only the front wheels. The top speed of the Karoq is 202 km and it can hit a ton in just 9 seconds, which is pretty quick for a SUV of this size. However, there is still no timeline given by Skoda as to when they will be bringing back the Karoq. Currently, the manufacturer is working on launching the Kushaq which will be the new entry-level SUV for Skoda. We saw the SUV as a concept at Auto Expo 2020 where it was called Vision IN Concept. The Kushaq will be unveiled by the end of March 2021 and it should hit the showrooms by the middle of the year.

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