UPDATE – Brand Director of Skoda Auto India, Zac Hollis, has revealed on Twitter that only 400 units of the Rapid Matte Edition will be sold here.
Skoda will end production of the Rapid with the Matte Edition
Production of the Skoda Rapid C-segment sedan will stop once the recently launched Matte Edition runs its course. This was revealed recently by Brand Director, Skoda Auto India, Zac Hollis on microblogging site Twitter.
Responding to a user’s question, the Skoda man stated that after the sale of the Skoda Rapid Matte Edition (priced between Rs. 11.99 lakhs and Rs. 13.49 lakhs, ex-showroom), production of the C-segment sedan will cease in India.
Thus, the Matte Edition will be the final iteration of the Rapid which has had a decent run in India. The Czech carmaker has sold over 1 lakh units of the Rapid in the country over the years.
Skoda is, without a doubt, putting an end to the Rapid’s production in India to make way for the Slavia which will be unveiled soon (on 18th November, 2021) here, while its market launch has been planned by early next year.
Based on the MQB-A0-IN platform, the Slavia will be bigger than the Rapid (by 128 mm length-wise, 53 mm in width, 21 mm in height and 99 mm in wheelbase) and should come with more features as standard.
The Slavia will be available with 2 turbo-petrol engine options. Variants powered by the 115 PS, 1.0-litre TSI unit which comes teamed to either a 6-speed manual or a 6-speed automatic will essentially replace the Rapid in the segment.
On the other hand, grades sporting the 150 PS, 1.5-litre TSI motor would sit at the performance end of the C-segment and should be rivalled by its sibling from Volkswagen, the Virtus, which will also have the same engines and transmissions on offer.
