Skoda forayed into the Indian car market with the first generation Octavia sedan in 2001. The Octavia received good response from Indian car buyers, as the sedan offered class leading quality with strong performance and mileage at an acceptable price point. Skoda India continued sales of the first generation Octavia even after introducing the second generation Octavia re-badged for the Indian market as Laura. In 2010, Skoda discontinued the first generation Octavia after BS 4 emission norms came into effect.
Now the Volkswagen Group owned Skoda brand is all set to revive the Octavia nameplate in the Indian car market by introducing the third generation Octavia. The latest generation Octavia was unveiled at the 2013 Geneva Motor Show. The new Octavia will be launched in India by September this year with both diesel and petrol engine options. Skoda India will continue to sell the current Laura sedan and the new Octavia will be positioned between the Laura and Superb. As can be seen in the spy pictures shared by our reader Harshad Vyawahare, the new Octavia gets Skoda’s new logo.
The new Octavia is designed on the Volkswagen MQB platform, boasting of a simple yet elegant design language. Expect the new Octavia to be equipped with high end safety and convenience features. We expect Skoda to offer a 1.8-litre TSI engine producing 160 BHP of power and a 1.4-litre TSI producing 140 BHP of power for the petrol variants. The diesel engine option will be the 2.0-litre TDI motor producing around 160 BHP of power output. When launched, the Skoda Octavia will compete with the likes of the Volkswagen Jetta, Chevrolet Cruze, Toyota Corolla Altis and Hyundai Elantra.
