The launch of the compact SUV Kylaq has pushed the market share of Skoda Auto India to nearly 3% from 2% in four months. Ashish Gupta, brand director at the company tells Swaraj Baggonkar said that there is a further sales upside of 30% expected from the car. Excerpts:
Kylaq has brought down the entry price for Skoda. What percentage of your total sales is coming from Kylaq?
Yes, it has. For India 2.0 products – Kushaq and Slavia – the average ticket size was around Rs 14-15 lakh. With the Kylaq now in the mix, this has come to around Rs 11 lakh. Currently 60% of Skoda’s India sales is Kylaq.
The brand has become more accessible. Would there be an attempt to capture more of this?
We are taking one step at a time. We have just introduced Kylaq. Whenever products are planned for a market there is always a 5-10 year horizon. We are always thinking about the next thing.
With there being so much focus on SUVs, does that mean no action in the hatchback segment?
The industry should not rule out hatchback and notchbacks because there are still customers for it. But the consumer trend in India and globally clearly shows the move towards bigger cars and the SUV body style.
How much of an upside do you think the Kylaq can generate from here?
It has been just three months into the launch of the car. There are always some fine tunings that are required in the initial phase. There is definitely the potential for it to grow by 25-30% from these levels.
What will be the focus for the Kylaq from the rural segment?
The usage of the car and aspirations are different in the rural areas than those in the urban setting. About 60-70% of our expansion has come in tier-2 and tier-3 areas. This is the entry point for the cluster of rural areas.
How many touch points do you have and what is the plan ahead?
We have 296 touch points. By this month end we will be at 300. And by the end of year the aim is to have 350.
What are the sales per outlet for Skoda?
The industry operates at 25-30 sales per outlet on an average per month. We are 27-28 sales per month per outlet, it is a healthy position to be in. Healthier ones operate at around 35. We would like to push our volumes to reach that level.
When do we see EVs come to India?
The inflection point for EVs will only come around 2026-27. That’s when manufacturers will have the capability to locally produce cars and also when supply chains will iron out to meet the surge and that is also the time when new CAFÉ norms kick in.
Is the industry moving ahead in line with projections?
Earlier the predictions were that by 2030 India would have 30% of EV penetration which won’t be happening. 15-18% is what I feel should be achievable, which itself would be substantial. We are also keeping abreast of these projections and developments and evaluating our EV plans.
Is Skoda-Volkswagen considering the new EV policy of the government?
It is too early to say. We are evaluating the contours of the policy. There is no final decision on it yet.
