Mumbai: The Skoda Fabia, a more affordable Skoda that many in India expected last year. The company has been delaying its launch due to a lack of local auto part suppliers.
With annual sales of close to 9,000 units Skoda, Auto India is clearly not in the volume segments. But the Fabia will mark its entry into the volume segment. There has been a delay in launching the car and the reason behind the delay is that the company wants to increase the local content to 40-50 per cent and launch it at a competitive price during the second half of this year.
A competitive price means significant volumes. Skoda Auto has set an internal target of selling 30,000 Fabia's annually. The Fabia was first planned for an early 2005 launch but the company delayed it to build up a strong vendor base. That is a challenge faced by most new entrants in the crowded Indian car market. Now, Skoda hopes that the 30,000 target will make it feasible for vendors to invest on additional manufacturing capacities.
"Fabia will be a key product. We are in the process of setting up infrastructure, dealer service. We hope to significantly increase our volume," MD, Skoda Auto India said.
Skoda Auto's Fabia will be pitched against the likes of Honda City, which currently commands close to 35 per cent share in the segment pegged at around 10,000 units a month.
Industry players say that the mid size segment which is currently growing at around 17 per cent will continue to outpace the overall passenger car market growth.
And with more midsize expected from manufacturers like Mahindra-Renault and Ford, customers can expect a wide variety of conventional sedans to upgrade from the small hatchbacks.
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