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Skoda to debut in India with Octavia, not Felicia

Czech car major Skoda Auto AS has decided to price its maiden offering for India -- luxury sedan Octavia -- at Rs 900,000, a senior company official said on Thursday.

Besides, the company is also working towards introducing the Felicia and Fabia models in India over the next two to three years, Detlef Witting, vice-chairman, Skoda Auto, said at the Auto Expo 2000 in New Delhi.

''The Octavia, to be introduced in both diesel and petrol versions, would be priced above Rs 900,000 and would be positioned between the Mitsubishi Lancer and Mercedes E-class,'' he added.

The car, bookings for which are expected to commence in May 2000, would be introduced initially sporting a 1.4 litre diesel heart. This would be followed by a 2-litre petrol version within the current calender year.

Besides, a top-of-the-line version ''Lauren and Klemen' Model will be introduced in the market. ''The exact pricing of the various models would be decided by the time the car is introduced in India.''

The car would be introduced in India through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Skoda Auto India. The company had got the Foreign Investment Promotion Board approval in November 1999 to set up a $ 59 million venture and had subsequently signed the memorandum of understanding with the Directorate General of Foreign Trade.

The plant is being set up in Aurangabad, Maharashtra, and the ground breaking ceremony would be on January 14.

The company, in its application with the FIPB, has stated that it would divest upto ten per cent stake in the subsidiary over three years. However, nothing has been finalised on that end.

''Divestment is a long term strategy for us but for the time being we will go it alone in India. The decision has been based on the fact that we want to maintain the international quality of our cars .. besides, Volkswagen and Skoda have enough financial muscle to see through any further investments required in the future.''

The car would initially be assembled in India through imports of completely knocked down and semi-knocked down kits. ''In the first phase of two to three years, we would continue with CKD and SKD assembly. But we will be working on the localisation programme simultaneously.''

The company would initially commence deliveries through two dealers in Bombay and Delhi, which would later be hiked.

Skoda, Witting said, does not intend to export the made-in- India Octavia before two years of commencing production. ''We have to first look at satisfying the domestic demand here and also build up the infrastructure and improve quality of suppliers to our standards.''

It may be recalled that Skoda was initially planning to foray into India through a joint manufacturing facility with Volkswagen group company Audi AG. The company had even shortlisted the Felicia as the launch vehicle for the country but later decided against the model and is now introducing the Octavia.

''However, this does not mean that the Felicia would never come to India. We are exploring the feasibility and we might introduce the Felicia and even the recently launched Fabia in India over the next few years. But no time frames can be specified for the same.''

UNI

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