Skoda Discontinues Base Variants Of Fabia


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Skoda has stopped production of the base Active and Active Plus variants. The Ambition variant (mid-level) too has been discontinued. These variants had very little demand and most buyers prefer the Ambition Plus variant as it has more features. Thus the Skoda Fabia will be available in only two variants (with petrol and diesel engines). This will make it easier for Skoda to handle inventory and will also reduce cost of production for the company.

New Skoda Fabia Line Up

* 1.2 MPi Ambition Plus
* 1.2 MPi Elegance
* 1.2 TDi Ambition Plus
* 1.2 TDi Elegance

Skoda is said to be working on increasing localization on the Fabia hatchback. This will help them to correct prices and increase sales of their cheapest car in India. The new Fabia is expected to be launched in 2014.

Skoda Discontinues Base Variants Of Fabia | MotorBeam - Indian Car Bike News & Reviews
 
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What about Skoda Fabia Scout ?
Skoda Fabia is a great car for highways. But Skodas so called 'scary' after sales service would be the basic reason for the low sales numbers.
Anyways, any news about something new from Skoda in the price bracket that is going to be empty ?
 
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What about Skoda Fabia Scout ?
Skoda Fabia is a great car for highways. But Skodas so called 'scary' after sales service would be the basic reason for the low sales numbers.
Anyways, any news about something new from Skoda in the price bracket that is going to be empty ?
Scout has no mechanical differences between Fabia, Fabia will remain their entry level product for some time to come.
 
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Scout has no mechanical differences between Fabia, Fabia will remain their entry level product for some time to come.
Skoda might be aiming to increase the sales numbers of Scout by slowly discontinuing old gen Fabia.
Eventhough the Scout came with the TDI and MPI engines that currently does the duty on Fabia it was ok. But Skoda India did only some cosemetic makeup and made it upmarket by adding some leather to interiors. Low sales numbers proved it to be a not worthy upgrade/facelift. If there was a increase in the ground clearance which would have made it apt for some little off roading Scout would have made little sense.
 
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What about Skoda Fabia Scout ?
Skoda Fabia is a great car for highways. But Skodas so called 'scary' after sales service would be the basic reason for the low sales numbers.
Anyways, any news about something new from Skoda in the price bracket that is going to be empty ?
People prefer Polo over Fabia, and hence Fabia is dead.
Me too would anyday prefer VW over Skoda, hope VW comes up with something in Laura segment. For Skoda, I don't know when real rapid will be launched in India. Hope they do it soon.



 
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People prefer Polo over Fabia, and hence Fabia is dead.
Me too would anyday prefer VW over Skoda, hope VW comes up with something in Laura segment. For Skoda, I don't know when real rapid will be launched in India. Hope they do it soon.
If i am in a position to choose between a VW and Skoda, I too would choose VW any day.[:)]
There might be something that would come as a replacement for the Octavia.
Moreover Skoda India might be planning to pose Fabia Scout into the premium hatch segment along with the top end variant of Fabia. [:)]
 
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If i am in a position to choose between a VW and Skoda, I too would choose VW any day.[:)]
There might be something that would come as a replacement for the Octavia.
Moreover Skoda India might be planning to pose Fabia Scout into the premium hatch segment along with the top end variant of Fabia. [:)]
Other then claddings the fabia scout has nothing different then regular fabia . The ground clearance is also same .
 
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Other then claddings the fabia scout has nothing different then regular fabia . The ground clearance is also same .
Skoda tried a cost effective trick of deriving a estate/compact SUV competor with its present Fabia by adding some claddings and some leather additions to its interiors to make it feel upmarket and then pricing it high. But the sensible Indian market has responded well with its low sales number again making it clear that only VFM products would be feasible here[;)].
 
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Skoda Fabia to be localised further, made cheaper in sales drive

Czech carmaker Skoda will reposition its Fabia hatchback to make it more competitive with higher localisation and lower cost of ownership as part of a plan to garner 4% share in the Indian car market in five years.

The firm, which has identified service and cost of ownership as its biggest weakness, is also changing its organisational structure as part of a new strategy devised after a series of meetings with the company chairman at its headquarters in Czech Republic.

"The immediate focus is to create the right organizational set up and changing or rather improving our perception (in the marketplace) on cost of ownership," Sudhir Rao, MD of Skoda Auto India, said. "An all new highly localized Fabia will be cornerstone of that strategy," he told ET.

Skoda plans to introduce the new Fabia in 2-3 years. It is expected to make or source 80%-90% of its parts in the country. At present, the localised content in Fabia is about 50%. Skoda's owner Volkswagen has already announced plans to build an engine plant in the country.

Rao says the new Fabia will be very competitively priced and the company expects to sell 75,000-1,00,000 Fabia cars a year. Skoda also plans to bring in new models and refreshes in the mid-size, executive and premium sedans to consolidate its presence in the country. All these models will come with high localisation and priced competitively, officials said.

To address the cost of ownership issues, Skoda recently appointed Charles Stroud, a veteran in after-sales service, as head of after sales. And a few weeks ago, it mobilized 44 senior officials across various functions of marketing, PR, finance, HR and logistics to study the customer care process at dealerships and discuss ways to improve customer ownership.

"Right now, the focus is on service, sales and marketing in that order, as we build our portfolio," Rao said.

Skoda sold 30,000 cars in 2011. It aims to sell 40,000 units in 2012. Till end August, the company has sold 30,000 cars, 30% more than the first eight months last year, thanks to the decent market response to its mid-size sedan Rapid.

Skoda Fabia to be localised further, made cheaper in sales drive - The Economic Times
 
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If you compare variant for variant between VW and Skoda, the Skodas work out to be the more VFM of the 2.
True.

But now VW slashed prices of Polo and Vento and making them real VFM products. I am sure Skoda would follow the same path because as per their strategy (VW group), Skoda is placed lower than VW.
 
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Skoda tried a cost effective trick of deriving a estate/compact SUV competor with its present Fabia by adding some claddings and some leather additions to its interiors to make it feel upmarket and then pricing it high. But the sensible Indian market has responded well with its low sales number again making it clear that only VFM products would be feasible her.
+1.

If you compare variant for variant between VW and Skoda, the Skodas work out to be the more VFM of the 2.
And skodas a.s.s. will rip you off.
Fabia is good car ?? The NVH levels are horrible, feels tad better than rickshaw.

But now VW slashed prices of Polo and Vento and making them real VFM products. I am sure Skoda would follow the same path because as per their strategy (VW group), Skoda is placed lower than VW.
+1. And skoda is 2nd grade brand while VW remains primary one.
 
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Skoda asks senior officials to perform

Czech carmaker Skoda has asked nearly a dozen of its senior staff to improve performance at a time when the company is working at strategies to boost its negligible market share. Skoda, part of the Volkswagen group, has failed to make a big impact in India and its market share has been just over 1% despite it being present in the country since November 2001.

"Yes, we have put ten people on probation for performance improvement," Skoda India MD Sudhir Rao confirmed to TOI. Rao, who took charge of operations at Skoda earlier this year, said the officials are from various departments, including sales and marketing functions. "There are certain areas where we need to improve and we have started working on this aspect through this exercise," he said.

The company, which sold 34,089 passenger vehicles last fiscal in an overall market of 26.2 lakh units, wants to boost its share in India as it is one of the highest-potential markets globally. Skoda has said it wants to launch new models in India over the coming years as it moves towards its target of selling 1.75 lakh units annually by 2017.

Skoda officials elaborated the company's aggressive strategy to its dealers at a conference last week where they stressed on a new focus to boost volumes. Company officials said Skoda wants to focus on the hatchback segment more aggressively considering it provides the highest volumes in overall car sales.

The Fabia is the only car that the company sells in this segment at the moment and its officials have earlier indicated that Skoda may drive in the Citigo - a small car planned for Europe - in India in the future. "Citigo also has a potential in a market like India. It is in the investigation phase now," Skoda's global chairman Winfried Vahland had told TOI earlier.

Automobile Industry India, Auto Industry News, Automotive Industry, Automobile Market | Industry News - Economic Times
 

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