Skoda to showcase India-bound crossover concept next year

• Might debut at the 2020 Auto Expo
• Will be based on the new low-cost platform designed especially for India

Skoda is planning to unveil a new SUV concept early next year which will preview the first model based on the new MQB A0-IN platform. This low-cost version of the MQB architecture is specifically developed for the Indian car market and will underpin many upcoming vehicles from the Volkswagen Group umbrella.

According to reports, this new concept is expected to be showcased at the 2020 Delhi Auto Expo in February while the production version should hit the market by the end of 2020. Following the new crossover will be a hatchback based on the same platform but that will arrive in 2021. Both these cars will be manufactured at the carmaker’s facility in Pune. Also, these new vehicles will have a 90 per cent of localisation when they arrive after the BS6 norms kick in.

As part of the India 2.0 program, the German carmaker consolidated all of its three passenger vehicle brands in India and rechristened them as ‘Skoda Auto Volkswagen India Private Limited’ last month. Skoda will lead the charge here with the new platform followed by Volkswagen which will have two cars in its portfolio, including a small SUV.

Since these cars are based on an India-specific platform, VW Group will not export them to the European market. The carmaker has already invested around one billion Euros for the development of the A0-IN platform. A part of this investment will be utilized for setting up a new R&D centre in Delhi while the company will have its headquarters in Pune. 

Picture - Skoda Vision iV Concept

Source - Automotive News Europe