Skoda had planned to launch the 4th-gen Octavia in India by the end of 2020 but the coronavirus pandemic blew things out of place. A few days ago, the Director of Sales, Service and Marketing at Skoda Auto India, Zac Hollis, had tweeted that the 4th-gen Skoda Octavia was all set to be launched in India in the next two months and now it is confirmed that the Octavia will be launched in India in April 2021. For the record, Skoda had globally unveiled the 4th-gen Octavia way back in November 2019.
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Skoda had unveiled its Kushaq a couple of days ago and kicked off the India 2.0 strategy. Under this strategy, the VW group has invested as much as EUR 1 billion to expand Skoda and VW’s own presence in the Indian subcontinent for the long term and Skoda is now following the Kushaq’s unveiling up by the launch of the Octavia.
In terms of design, the all-new 4th gen Octavia now draws inspiration from Skoda’s latest design language. This means the car gets a more emotive look and slightly larger dimensions when compared to its predecessor. The new design of the Octavia plays a vital role in improving the car’s aerodynamics and increase the overall fuel efficiency of the car. Apart from the design, the new Octavia will also be getting a bunch of hi-tech features like a set of new LED Matrix headlamps, a bigger interior, a new HUD (Heads-Up Display), two 10-inch touchscreens, a new shift-by-wire DSG gearbox and a bunch of innovative assistance systems such as Collision-Avoidance Assist and Exit Warning and not to forget, a lovely 2-spoke steering wheel.
Globally, the 4th-gen Octavia is available with 3-mild hybrid petrol engine variants: a 1.0-litre 3-cylinder TSI mild-hybrid engine, a 1.0-litre 4-cylinder TSI mild-hybrid engine and a 2.0-litre TSI mild-hybrid engine producing 190 PS. The plug-in hybrid variant gets a 1.4-litre TSI petrol engine. However, in India, it is going to be a petrol-only affair.
Skoda might bring in the 1.5L TSI petrol engine or a 2.0L TSI petrol engine to India. The former produces 150 PS of peak power and 250Nm of peak torque. The latter meanwhile, also does duties on the Skoda Superb and produces 190PS of peak power and 320Nm of peak torque. Both of these engines will be mated to a 7-speed DSG gearbox. It will take on the Hyundai Elantra in the INR 20 lakh segment and hence, should be priced in the same bracket.