Skoda sells 1 lakh cars in 2 years under its India 2.0 strategy: What’s working for Skoda

The Czech automaker Skoda Auto India has announced that the company has achieved a huge milestone by reaching 1,00,000 cars sold in the last two years. The company has mentioned that this feat took them more than six years before the launch of Skoda Slavia and Kushaq. Skoda has revealed that from January 1st to December 2023, they have managed to dispatch a total of 48,755 units, and a majority of this figure has been accredited to the Slavia and Kushaq.

Commenting on the achievement of this huge milestone, Petr Janeba, Brand Director, Skoda Auto India stated, “It was extremely important for us to maintain our momentum through 2023 after the record-high of 2022. Our efforts in 2023 focused on consolidating our position by continuous enhancements across our product range, widening our network, and improving the quality in sales and after-sales for more satisfied customers, connected through our Human Touch philosophy to cater to all our customer’s needs.” He added, “Despite the supply challenges in the first half of the year, we have ensured that we ended the last quarter of 2023 on a positive note.”

Sharing the details of its sales, the company stated that its best year in India was 2022. The company launched the Slavia mid-size sedan and Kushaq mid-size SUV in the same year. In 2022, the company managed to sell a total of 53,721 units of its cars. Skoda India has also added that its flagship SUV, the Kodiaq in India, has also managed to post sales increase by 100 percent. Lastly, the company added that the Indian car market now is the brand’s one of the biggest markets outside Europe.

What has contributed to the success of Skoda in India?

A lot of people might be wondering what has led to this growth of Skoda Auto India in the country. Well, there are a number of reasons behind it. Following are the reasons which have helped Skoda Auto India to post such remarkable sales figures after having some disappointing years before.

Slavia and Kushaq’s success

First and foremost, the biggest reason behind the success of Skoda in India is the launch of the mid-size sedan Slavia and compact SUV Kushaq. Both of these models built on the MQB A0 IN platform have helped the company in reaching numerous homes in the country. Both of these cars are the sales pullers for the brand and regularly post around 1,600 units (Slavia) and 2,400 units (Kushaq).

Expansion of dealership network

Another one of the massive reasons behind the success of Skoda Auto India is the increase in the number of dealerships across the country. The company has announced that since 2021 its customer touchpoints have increased from 120 to 260 in 2023. This has helped the brand immensely as people can now access Skoda vehicles in a number of cities.

Better quality service

With the expansion of the dealership network, the company has also managed to increase its quality of service. Better customer feedback has led to increased sales, and the company also offers a great extended warranty program. The company offers an extended warranty program that allows the possibility of extending the warranty coverage up to 8 years or 1,50,000 kms.

German cars for Indian car prices

One of the most important reasons behind the success of Skoda Auto India in the country is that it now offers German quality cars for Indian prices. The Slavia and Kushaq start at Rs 11.29 lakh and 11.59 lakh respectively. This is a huge deal as prior to these new cars, the most affordable option in India from the brand was Skoda Rapid.

Cars have been designed specifically for India

Last but not least, the major reason behind Skoda’s success is that the Slavia and Kushaq have been based on the MQB A0 IN platform, which is an India-specific platform. This has allowed the brand to offer features like good ground clearance, solid build quality, and a perfect five-star safety rating for both of its models. All of these reasons in combination have helped Skoda become a major player in the country after struggling for so many years.