Skoda Rapid to go turbo petrol before Bharat Stage 6 norms: Diesel to be dumped

Skoda’s most affordable car in India – the Rapid C-Segment sedan will get a brand new, 1 liter-3 cylinder TSI turbocharged petrol engine. This motor, which is already available in Europe, gets two states of tune: 95 Bhp-160 Nm and 115 Bhp-200 Nm. Skoda is likely to go with the higher state of tune in the Indian market. This is because the 1 liter TSI turbo petrol motor will not only replace the 1.6 liter, naturally aspirated MPI petrol engine currently available on the Rapid but also replace the 1.5 liter-4 cylinder turbocharged diesel motor. Yes, you’re reading right. There’s a very good chance that Skoda and the Volkswagen group as a whole would begin dumping the TDI diesel engine across car models and brands even in the Indian market, opting for CNG, petrol-hybrid and electric powertrains instead.

Here’s what Zac Hollis, director – sales, service and marketing, Skoda Auto India, told ACI,

We will not have a diesel in the Rapid but will replace that with a very efficient petrol engine – a 1.0-litre TSI. It is an extremely efficient engine giving a much better fuel economy than the current MPI, which has often been criticized a little for the fuel economy and efficiency. The investments in BS6 for diesel will force the price of cars to go up in the future. For a customer, it actually that makes the business case for buying a diesel a lot less weaker than before. In my personal opinion, the market will move more towards petrol going forward.

The 1 liter TSI turbocharged petrol engine will be offered with a 7 speed twin clutch DSG automatic gearbox, along with a 6 speed manual. The same motor is also expected to make its way into the Volkswagen Vento, which is also expected to move away from the 1.6 liter naturally aspirated petrol and the 1.5 liter TDI turbo diesel. It remains to be seen if the 1.2 liter TSI petrol engine, which is offered on the Volkswagen Polo – the group’s largest selling car in the Indian market – also gets the 1 liter TSI. This seems likely as the localization of this engine will give maximum returns only when it’s offered in the best selling car from the Volkswagen group.

Also, Volkswagen and Skoda have bigger plans for this engine post 2020. In 2021, when Skoda launches its first compact SUV in India – the Kamiq – the vehicle will exclusively feature the 1 liter TSI motor. Similarly, the Volkswagen T-Cross compact SUV will also get this engine sometime in 2021, when it’s launched in India. The replacement models for the Vento and Rapid will also receive this engine. All these factors seem to suggest that the 1 liter, TSI turbo petrol engine could be the only one on offer across a range of Volkswagen and Skoda affordable cars. This engine is also likely to be offered with petrol-CNG dual fuel trim.