- Expected to be a Kushaq-sized vehicle
- Could come to India post-2027
Budget EV
Skoda is bringing a budget EV to India and that’s official. It’s expected to be a Kushaq-sized vehicle and will be produced at the automaker’s factory in Aurangabad.
Slow and steady
However, while the automaker is bullish about EVs for India, it is playing the game cautiously. It is waiting for the CAFE 3 norms and the Central Government’s stand on taxation policies for EVs and hybrids before greenlighting the project. It has emphasised that deep localisation is the only way it will be able to sell a budget EV in India competitively and for this, a market needs to exist in a much bigger size than the current one.
With India being one of its most important markets globally, Skoda does not want to take a chance and is willing to wait for other players to create a full-fledged EV market before it dives into the deep end. The automaker is confident that even with the late entry, its products will have enough value to make a dent in the fray.
Top-down approach
While this locally produced EV will come to India post-2027, their first attempt at the EV segment will come in the form of the Enyaq and Elroq SUVs. The latter was unveiled recently while the former, which will be launched in India, will get a facelift in March 2025. Both vehicles will be brought in via the CBU route at the time of launch but could be locally assembled if there is enough demand.
Right place, right time
The hint that it will be a Kushaq-sized vehicle makes sense for two reasons. The first is that by the time the EV comes along, the SUV will be a completely new vehicle with two-row and three-row options. This means Skoda is expected to develop the EV along the lines of the new car rather than the current one.
The other is that the market is moving towards bigger cars with a new EV battle expected to open between Maruti Suzuki, Toyota, MG, Mahindra, Tata, Honda, Hyundai, and Kia.
