New seven-seat SUV will be based on VW's MQB platform. Skoda also evaluating a compact SUV based on the Taigun platform.
With the facelifted Skoda Yeti that goes on sale later this year, the carmaker is slated to introduce the 1.2 TSI petrol engine.
Skoda may add four new SUVs in the next five years, company sources
have revealed. In addition to the Yeti, Skoda has already confirmed its
intention of launching a new big seven-seat SUV to rival the Hyundai
Santa Fe and Toyota Fortuner. This new seven-seater will be based on the
VW MQB platform.
Werner Eichorn, board member, Sales and Marketing confirmed that Skoda
is betting big on SUVs in India too. “We have good experience in 4X4s,
so there is scope to grow in that sector. We are analysing if we can get
a bigger SUV, which we call ‘A plus’, and internally we are convinced
to do it. If the segment trends here stay the same, we have to think
about an opportunity below the Yeti.” One reason why Skoda hasn’t axed
the slow-selling Yeti in India and instead launched the new one
recently, is because of its strategic importance in the SUV segment.
With the facelifted Skoda Yeti that goes on sale later this year, the
carmaker is slated to introduce a 1.2 TSI engine option. The 1.2 TSI
petrol Yeti will be cheaper than the current base 4x2 Yeti diesel and
will also come with only front-wheel-drive. Unfortunately, there are no
plans to launch the automatic DSG variant yet.
The carmaker is also evaluating a small, entry-level SUV that could be
based on the VW Taigun’s PQ12 platform. In fact, a key challenge for
getting the production version of the Taigun signed off for India is
having a Skoda version achieve greater economies of scale and drive
costs down.
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