"We will launch automatic diesel version of Laurin & Klement, which will be followed by a new Octavia by the end of 2005. We are also setting up an R&D centre in the country," Skoda Auto India Managing Director Imran Hassen said after launching Skoda RS, dubbed as India's first turbo petrol car.
The Skoda RS has been priced at Rs 13.23 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi), he said. The company, which has invested over $56 million in the country, aims to break even next year and targets 60 per cent sales growth this year at 8,000 units.
The $56 million investment formed part of the company's commitment to the government while entering India in 1999.
According to Foreign Investment Promotion Board guidelines, the Czech carmaker had to invest at least $56 million within seven years of its operations since 1997.
The Skoda RS is powered by 1,781cc, multi-point fuel injection engine. It has features like 528-litre double bed boot, sun and moon roof, and parking sensor.
Skoda has started producing cars at its new greenfield facility in Aurangabad (Maharashtra) from early this year for which it has already hired a workforce of 240 people.
The new plant has a production capacity of 10,000 units a year. Earlier, Skoda used to assemble Octavia at a makeshift facility. -- PTI
Imran Hassen, Managing Director, Skoda Auto India, with the new Skoda RS which was launched in New Delhi on Tuesday. Photo: Ranjan Basu/Saab Press