Skoda is reportedly looking to bring back the Octavia to India. Needless to say, the Octavia was one of the most sought after premium executive sedans in the country once. However, drop in demand for sedans meant Octavia also bore the brunt and eventually the Czech carmaker decided to pull the plug on it.
Nevertheless, Octavia has a cult following in India and a very popular choice in the used car market. Hence, Skoda is tempted to bring back the Octavia to India which was once its prodigal son. The fourth-gen Octavia made its debut in India in 2021 before being discontinued last year when BS6 phase 2 emission norms kicked in in April 2023.
Skoda Octavia in India
In a recent report by PTI, Skoda India brand director Petr Janeba revealed that the company is indeed looking to bring back the Octavia to India. In fact, Skoda is even planning to locally assemble the sedan in the country via Completely Knocked Down (CKD) kits. Although the report doesn’t mention specifics of the model, we expect the facelifted fourth-gen Octavia to make it to India.
Janeba further revealed that Skoda is likely to re-introduce the premium sedan later this year. That said it typically takes 12-18 months to prepare a car for parts and components assembly, so realistically we can only expect the Octavia to make a return by next year. Apparently, Skoda is looking to target the Rs 30-37 lakh price bracket in which the company has no offering at the moment.
The Octavia is available with multiple powertrains globally. In India, however, it is likely to be available with either a 1.5-litre TSI turbo petrol engine or a 2.0-litre TSI turbo petrol unit, both mated to a 7-speed DSG automatic gearbox as standard.
Skoda Kodiaq, others in India
Besides Octavia, Skoda will also launch an updated iteration of the fourth-gen Kodiaq in India. Janebra further stated that the test mules of the new Kodiaq would probably start reaching Indian shores by the end of this year and it could be introduced by this time next year. Currently, Skoda offers the facelifted third generation model of Kodiaq in India.
Janeba noted that Skoda has a huge portfolio of cars globally but in India, it wants to introduce models “which have a big chance to be successful”. He further conceded that Skoda will probably initiate sales of CBUs completely built units, later this year, while the local assembly of the model would begin by next year only.
The PTI report states the test mules of the new Kodiaq would probably be reaching Indian shores by the end of this year and the model could be introduced by this time next year.
The Czech brand intends to have a healthy mix of products with European legacy brands at the upper level and deeply localised, volume-oriented brands at the entry-level. Earlier this year, Skoda announced the development of a sub-compact SUV in India which is expected to be introduced early next year.
