A few months back, Skoda announced that it is working on multiple EVs for the Indian market. Recently, the Czech carmaker started operations in Vietnam with Karoq and Kodiaq SUVs being the first set of models to be launched in the market, as CBU products. This will be followed by the India-made Kushaq sometime in 2024.
During an event marking the carmaker’s entry into Vietnam, a senior Skoda official interacted with a couple of Indian publications throwing light on the company’s electrification plans. It has been revealed that Skoda is working on an affordable entry-level battery electric vehicle (EV) in India.
Skoda sub-Rs 20 lakh EV details
The recent report mentions that Skoda is aiming for an aggressive price tag of less than Rs 20 lakh for this upcoming EV. In fact, Martin Jahn, Board Member for Sales and Marketing at Skoda Auto confirmed that it would be priced “somewhere between somewhere between €15,000 to €20,000 (equivalent to Rs 13-18 lakh)”.
This would pit it up against the likes of Tata Nexon.ev, Mahindra XUV400 and the upcoming Citroen eC3 Aircross. The report further states that it is expected to conform to an SUV bodystyle. Going by the price, it seems Skoda could launch a rebranded version of the Volkswagen ID.1 in India, albeit with some changes.
Like Skoda, its German cousin is also looking to establish its presence in India’s growing EV market. The former is likely to leverage the latter’s MEB21F platform which has been co-developed with Mahindra. This would ensure cost competitiveness. Each of three carmakers will utilise this platform to build their respective EV but the top hats will remain distinct.
The MEB21F supports front-wheel drive layout and can house batteries of over 50 kWh in capacity. This architecture will house batteries with lithium-ferro-phosphate (LFP) chemistry cells, while long-range versions will be equipped with more energy dense nickel-manganese-cobalt (NMC cells).
(Source: Car&Bike)
