Bolstered by Kushaq, Skoda Auto India aims for new sales milestone next year

Skoda Auto is hopeful to set a new sales record in India next year. The Czech car brand reached its peak sales volumes in the country nearly a decade ago. Now, with the continued ramp-up in production and new product launches, Skoda is confident of crossing its previous sales record in the country by the middle of 2022.

Skoda Auto India hit its peak sales volume of 34,265 units in 2012. Now, the automaker is aiming to sell at least 60,000 units next year. The products being launched under its India 2.0 project are expected to play a crucial role in that strategy.

The auto company believes the feat is achievable despite the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. Skoda Auto India's brand director Zac Hollis told PTI that the company is on a huge growth path and the long term plan is to sell 1 lakh cars annually in the domestic market.

This year, Skoda aims to sell three times as many cars as 2020. Hollis said that in 2020, the company sold around 11,000 cars. This was due to the heavy impact of the pandemic and lockdown. However, this year, with the sales curve up, the company is confident about sales growth.

He believes the sales growth will be seen on the back of the new products. These include the new generation Octavia sedan, Kushaq SUV etc. “There is nothing like new cars in the marketplace to drive sales. We are bringing this year four new cars in total and I am very confident that these will drive customer demand," Hollis said.

He further added that despite the pandemic, Skoda didn't change its sales plans and targets. "We stick to all our plans. All our plans are unchanged. I believe the car market in India will recover," he said.

Skoda is currently spearheading the Volkswagen Group's India 2.0 project. Under this strategy, VW aims to become an affordable premium car brand in India. Also, it aims to grab a 5% market share in India with Skoda and VW cars combined.