Skoda to launch Seltos, Creta rival SUV Kushaq in Q2 of 2021

New Delhi: Czech auto maker Skoda on Thursday said it will launch its mid-sized SUV, Skoda Kushaq — the first vehicle designed and developed under VW Group’s ‘India 2.0’ project — in the second quarter of 2021.

The Skoda Kushaq will also steer the way for a series of vehicles, proposed to be introduced over the next 18 months, Skoda Auto India said in a statement.

The new offering will also be the first vehicle based on the localised ‘MQB A0 IN’ platform and “will resonate virtues of the premium SUVs of the company, Kodiaq, Karoq, and Kamiq”, it added.

The vehicle is slated to be launched by the second quarter of 2021.

Commenting on the upcoming model, Skoda Auto India Brand Director Zac Hollis said, “The new Skoda Kushaq will offer a compelling combination of the brand’s timeless design ideals, unmatched performance, superior build quality, exemplary value proposition, and enhanced safety and security.”

With the Skoda Kushaq, the Czech automobile manufacturer said it leaps forward into a “new era of mobility for the Skoda Auto led Volkswagen Group, in India, based on state of the art and locally developed Modulare Querbaukasten (MQB) A0 IN platform”.

“The latest offering, Skoda Kushaq, will also steer the way for a series of vehicles, proposed to be introduced over the next 18 months, tailored to the needs and demands of discerning customers from the domestic market as well as other emerging economies from the world over,” it added.

Under the India 2.0 Project, German automotive group Volkswagen had announced in 2018 that it would invest 1 billion euro (around Rs 7,900 crore) between 2019 and 2021 as part of its strategy to enhance presence in India which will be led by group firm Skoda Auto.

Under the plan, Skoda Auto was envisaged to set up an engineering design and development centre at Pune besides enhancing capacities at the group’s two plants at Aurangabad and Pune.