It was reported that Czech car-maker Skoda has stated that a new sports utility vehicle will be introduced in India by 2013 from parent Volkswagen Group's portfolio. The company is expecting its sales to increase by about 50 per cent this year, mainly on the back of the robust performance of its Rapid sedan.
The reports quoted Skoda Auto Member of the Board (Sales and Marketing) Jurgen Stackmann as saying "The VW group is adding one more production line at the Aurangabad plant for rolling out a new SUV by 2013. We will also announce a new investment for this purpose.’’ He, however, declined to share details such as which company of the group will roll out the SUV and what could be the investment for this project.
It was reported earlier that Volkswagen Group had announced that it will invest a minimum of Rs 2,000 crore on its Indian operations by 2013 to ramp up capacity, launch new models and strengthen research activities. At present, the group comprising Volkswagen, Audi and Skoda has two manufacturing facility at Chakan and Aurangabad, in Maharashtra. The capacity at Chakan will be increased to 1.3 lakh units annually this year from 1.1 lakh cars. Aurangabad can produce 20,000 units annually at present.
