VW Group has given Skoda the responsibility for the Indian market. With the new strategy, the Czech carmaker will introduce the MQB A0 platform for the group’s cars in India. It’s also been announced that further development of the platform will also be done in the country. It’s called the company’s India 2.0 Project, and is bound to bring good news for VWAG fans and prospective customers.
Skoda Auto now has the responsibility of the MQB A0 platform in India, starting with the India-specific MQB A0 IN. The first of the products based on the said platform will come as early as 2020. It also needs to be mentioned — and should come as a relief — that going forwards, all models designed and produced in India by the group will be based on MQB.
That will not only mean a common platform for all vehicles, which should keep a price and even quality in check, but also enable flexibility for new vehicle development. The India 2.0 Project will be handled by Skoda Auto India’s MD, Gurpratap Boparai.
It remains to be seen how this move pans out for new product launches under the VW brand. (We are eagerly waiting for the all-new Polo.) Thankfully the company mentions in its official release that preparations for adoption of the new platform are in full-swing.
ŠKODA AUTO CEO, Bernhard Maier, said, “Volkswagen Group has tasked us with this responsibility, thereby highlighting the level of trust that Volkswagen Group’s management places in the expertise of the ŠKODA team. We are firmly convinced that — after one and a half years of intensive work — together with Volkswagen we now have a suitable approach to bring the right vehicles into the Indian market at the right time. We will present the first model built on the new MQB-A0-IN platform as early as 2020. I am confident that we can make the ‘INDIA 2.0’ project a success.”
