Earlier this week, we got you a few live images of the Skoda Rapid courtesy NDTV’s Siddharth Vinayak Patankar. Today, we have with us another image of the Skoda Rapid, this time depicting the Rapid’s rear end and from what we’re seeing the Rapid looks like an exact replica of the Volkswagen Vento barring of course the Skoda logo adorning its boot. While this is quite understandable considering the fact that the Skoda Rapid is essentially a rebadged and restyled Volkswagen Vento and one which is also built in Chakan, we’re wondering how these cars will actually co-exist in the Indian C-segment sedan market.
With Skoda traditionally pricing its cars a tad below Volkswagen’s car models, the Rapid too might be priced a couple of tens of thousands below the Volkswagen Vento. At a starting price of under INR 7 Lakhs for the base model of the Rapid, there is a distinct possibility of the Rapid cannibalizing sales of the Vento as the customer is essentially getting the same car at a smaller price tag. The only thing that goes against the Skoda brand in India is the after sales service, about which we hear frequent complaints from existing Skoda customers.
Skoda Rapid Sedan
So, that might be a limiting factor in the Skoda Rapid’s sales. Another emerging rumor about the Skoda Rapid is that the car could possibly feature an automatic gearbox in the diesel engined variant. While we know for a fact that the Rapid will come with an automatic gearbox for the petrol variant, this rumor about the car coming with a diesel variant has surprised us and that could mean a clear sales tilt towards the Rapid as prospective Rapid customers who would prefer an automatic diesel sedan would gravitate towards the Rapid, leaving behind the Vento Diesel, which currently does not come with an automatic gearbox.
Whatever the case may be, Volkswagen India’s strategy for the Indian car market has aroused our curiosity as the firm is also mulling the entry of the its Spanish subsidiary SEAT, into the Indian market. If that actually happens, we will have three brands under the Volkswagen umbrella priced within say INR 50,000 of each other, all vying for the Indian car buyer’s purse strings. Going forward, Volkswagen India’s moves might be golden lessons in branding and product differentiation as the firm will soon have a finger in almost all the segments of the Indian car market. Watch this space!
0 comments:
Post a Comment