The COVID-19 pandemic has been etched in history. It devastated the whole world. The risk of the virus might have gone down, but it is still not over. Even when the spread has been curbed to quite a large extent, the after-effects of that time are ravaging almost all economies. Inflation is one of the biggest after-effects of the pandemic, and it is affecting all industries. The automobile industry is also badly hit. In recent times, the semiconductor shortage is being surmounted by rising prices. After Tata Motors, Honda, and Renault, Skoda has announced a price hike for all its models from next year.
Official statement
The company announced that from the 1st of January 2022, the prices of Skoda cars can rise by up to 3 percent. Skoda has released many cars in 2021, and they have shown tremendous success in our market. These cars were very competitive in terms of price, but that could change soon. Though Skoda’s Director of Sales and Marketing, Zac Hollis said, “the customer impact in terms of the incremental price increase is minimal”, it could impact the sales of the company. According to Zac the reason behind the cost increase is the rising material and operational cost. As of now, the company has not announced the final hiked-up prices, but the increase can lie from anywhere between 1-3 percent.
Skoda in India
Skoda has been increasing its presence in the Indian market by opening new facilities in Southern India. In 2021, the brand has opened close to 20 new facilities in the southernmost tip of the country. The plans of opening building new infrastructure are more inclined towards the Deccan region. The company aims for an 84 percent growth in market presence and a 90 percent growth in sales.
The year 2021 has been quite eventful for Skoda with the launch of the new generation Octavia and the mid-size SUV Kushaq. The year 2022 is set to be busy as well for the carmaker. The facelifted Kodiaq is all set to launch in January with the local production already begun at the Aurangabad plant. The launch of the Kodiaq will be followed by the Slavia which is set to be a more premium replacement to the Rapid.
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