All four Skoda and Volkswagen vehicles – Slavia, Virtus, Kushaq and Taigun, based on MQB A0 IN platform will boast increased features list
Currently riding on the wave of India 2.0 strategy, Skoda and Volkswagen offer four vehicles. All based on MQB A0 IN platform, the duo claim the safest car portfolio for mainstream buyers in India. Now, Skoda Brand Director, Petr Janeba, revealed juicy updates about India 2.5 strategy which is set to make a lot of noise in the Indian market.
Skoda Kushaq And Slavia Facelifts Incoming
Recently, Skoda Brand Director, Petr Janeba, has spilled the beans about the company’s future roadmap. For starters, both Skoda Kushaq and Slavia facelifts are incoming and could launch sometime next year. Up until then, Skoda and Volkswagen need to do a lot of catching up in the features and creature comforts department.
The competition has gotten fierce with the launch of the new Hyundai Verna. Especially after it became first-ever Hyundai offering in India to score a full fat 5 star crash rating from Global NCAP agency. Janeba revealed that there is a need to stay competitive against rivals and a bump in features list is evident.
Janeba further mentioned that ahead of catching up with rivals with facelifts, the company will introduce “some other things” in between. Despite having less features from the start, Skoda actively improves their products as they go along based on valuable customer feedback. The company will also strive to be package-wise competitive and price-wise competitive.
Ahead of Skoda Kushaq and Slavia facelifts launch sometime in 2025, Skoda might launch a few special edition versions with missing features or even add new trim levels or add these features to standard trims currently on sale. We just hope the price increment this feature addition brings, is digestible and competitive.
What are the missing features?
The most evident feature missing in cars sold under India 2.0 strategy is ADAS suite. Doesn’t matter whether Level 1 or Level 2, lack of ADAS in cars like Kushaq and Slavia from Skoda and Virtus and Taigun from Volkswagen doesn’t look good on paper. Especially when vehicles from two segments below, are offering ADAS in India. Skoda’s upcoming sub 4m SUV may very well get ADAS at launch.
Another notable feature missing is the 360-degree camera. The company could implement this feature with facelifts with a new design ORVMs and bumpers to house necessary cameras. We are not too keen on expecting a redundant (for Indian market) panoramic sunroof, we do hope there are rear disc brakes for added stopping power and increased safety.
Slavia rivals sedans like Honda City, Hyundai Verna and its Volkswagen counterpart, Virtus. However, Kushaq rivals compact SUVs like Hyundai Creta, Kia Seltos, Maruti Grand Vitara, Toyota Hyryder, MG Astor, Honda Elevate, Citroen C3 Aircross and its Volkswagen counterpart, Taigun. Powertrain options are likely to remain the same.
