Skoda Auto to replace Rapid with bigger sedan in 2021

 Skoda Auto India head Zac Hollis on Tuesday revealed that the Rapid will be replaced by a slightly bigger sedan in 2021. Zac Hollis confirmed this on Twitter while answering a query.

Starting at Rs 7.49 lakh (ex-showroom), the 2020 Skoda Rapid was launched in late September, and the sedan managed to fare decently in the market. The Czech automaker was forced to halt the production of the entry-level variant of the sedan, Rider, due to massive demand.

But according to this new development, Skoda doesn’t seem to have any plans for the mid-size sedan in the near future. The Skoda Rapid, instead of getting an update, will be replaced by a bigger sedan based on the MQB-AO platform.

The new sedan will be introduced in the country under the India 2.0 Investment program for which the Volkswagen Group had announced an investment of around €1 billion back in 2018.

The Skoda Auto India head went on to reveal that the upcoming offerings will only feature much more efficient and powerful TSI engines and the diesel units are being left behind in the new chapter. The current generation TSI engine offered in India is a 1.0-litre petrol engine offered with both manual and automatic transmission.

The new offering by the Czech automaker is likely to be an India-exclusive product and more likely to be built from scratch as there is no Skoda car currently that is based on the MQB-AO platform. The only 2 Skoda cars based on the MQB AO platform are Scala, a hatchback, and Kamiq, an SUV.

Skoda Auto India will also drive in a C-SUV to compete with the likes of Hyundai Creta and Kia Seltos. The fourth-generation Octavia is also scheduled for 2021.

“We will not have a new Rapid for India. At the end of next year, we will launch a new mugger sedan, based on the new MQB AO platform. We will launch only the efficient and powerful TSI engines under the India 2.0 Investment program,” said Zac Hollis, Head of Skoda Auto India, replying to a tweet.