The 1 lakh unit production milestone of the Skoda Rapid has been achieved at the Skoda India production facility in Chakan, Pune, Maharashtra. The 1,00,000th mid-size sedan to roll out was the top-spec Rapid Monte Carlo. The red Skoda Monte Carlo which rolled out pays homage to Skoda’s motorsport heritage and Rallye Monte Carlo.
The popular mid-size sedan car was introduced in the Indian market in the year 2011 and was updated in the year 2016 which shares the crystal design elements with other Skoda products.
Rapid in India is powered by a 1.6-litre petrol engine with 104.6 PS of power and a 1.5-litre TDI diesel engine with 110.1 PS of power. Both the engines come with a 5-speed manual and a 6-speed torque converter automatic transmission on the petrol and a 7-speed dual-clutch automatic on the diesel variant. A 1.0-litre TSI 3-cylinder, turbocharged, petrol engine is expected to be developed in India at a later stage along with the localised MQB-AO-IN platform.
Skoda entered the Indian market 18 years ago in the year 2001 and the Volkswagen group in India is represented by five passenger car brand’s Audi, Lamborghini, Porsche, Skoda and Volkswagen. Each brand operates as an independent entity in the Indian market. Volkswagen Group India has about 30 models and 240 dealerships in India. The brand operates two plants, one in Pune and another in Aurangabad. The Pune plant currently manufactures Volkswagen Polo, Vento, Ameo and Skoda Rapid and has a manufacturing capacity of 2,00,000 cars per year.
Volkswagen Group India is further strengthening its commitment through its regional project ‘INDIA 2.0’, which focuses on localised platforms to develop more cars relevant to the Indian market. The Volkswagen group is investing INR 8,000 crore (1 billion Euros) in this project and already has a technology centre set up in the Pune Plant, for the development of products based on the sub-compact MQB-A0-IN platform. The India 2.0 project led by Skoda will achieve 95% localization in future products and in the second phase the brand will be considering the possibility of exporting vehicles built in India.