Skoda India has crossed the one lakh-unit production milestone of the Rapid midsize sedan. The 1,00,000th unit of the model to roll out of the Czech brand’s plant in Chakan, Pune, was the top-spec Rapid Monte Carlo.
Originally launched in India back in 2011, the Skoda Rapid got a heavy update in 2016. The rival to the Maruti Ciaz, Honda City and Hyundai Verna is currently available with either a 105hp, 1.6-litre petrol or a 110hp, 1.5-litre diesel engine. Both motors can be had with a 5-speed manual as standard, though the petrol has a 6-speed torque convertor automatic option while the diesel gets a 7-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox option.
Available in four variants, the Skoda Rapid is priced between Rs 8.82 lakh and Rs 14.26 lakh (ex-showroom, India). An all-new Rapid is headed to India under parent company Volkswagen Group’s India 2.0 plan, though it is not expected to launch before 2021. The next-gen Skoda Rapid (and the next-gen Volkswagen Vento) will be based on a heavily localised version of VW’s MQB A0 platform and is expected to be powered by a 1.0-litre turbo-petrol engine. While the next Rapid will not come with a diesel motor (VW’s been slowly dropping diesels across the board), a CNG-powered model might make the cut.
Viraaj Bhatnagar
Dipan Sur
Dhruv Dhaka
Saptarshi Mondal
