NEW DELHI, India, April 19 (ANI): Skoda hopes its new Kodiaq will strengthen the brand in India as the SUV market grows, says Petr Janeba, Brand Director, Skoda Auto India.

Skoda Auto is confident that the launch of the new Kodiaq SUV in India will help further strengthen its brand image, especially as the demand for SUVs continues to rise both in India and around the world.

Speaking exclusively to ANI, Petr Janeba, Director of Skoda Auto India, shared his expectations from the new version of the Kodiaq.

Petr Janeba said, "It was our first seven-seater and our biggest car at the time. The SUV segment is growing globally, and in India, the growth is even faster. The Kodiaq played an important role in shaping Skoda's brand from 2017 till now."

According to Petr Janeba, the previous generation of the Kodiaq recorded over 900,000 sales worldwide, and more than 10,000 of those came from India. He believes that the new Kodiaq, which is more luxurious and offers better value for money, will perform even better in the Indian market.

"We expect to sell at least 150 per cent more than what we did with the previous version in India," he added, underlining the company's strong focus on expanding its presence in the Indian SUV segment."  

The all new Kodiaq comes with seven different colours for both the variants from which bronze gold is exclusive for Selection L&K (Laurin & Klement) while the steel grey is exclusive for Sportline.

Emphasising the car being assembled in and for India, he said, "The car is assembled 100% here (India). It's a parts and components business. So some of the components are localised. A lot of features that Skoda needs on Indian roads, are 100% localised. The whole car is assembled here in our Chatrapati Sambhaji Nagar factory, which contributes a lot. In Chatrapati Sambhaji Nagar, we produce premium cars. This car is being assembled there and are really proud that it's really localized to the level it needs to be."

Skoda was the fastest growing brand in India compared to last year. "So we are adding huge numbers, we have sold over 7,000, units and we are celebrating 25 year of Skoda in India now and 130 years this year of Skoda overall. We belong to the top three oldest brands in the world and we are very proud of it" he stated. (ANI)