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CHENNAI, March 26

SKODA Auto India Pvt Ltd has advanced its programme of switching over to assembling completely knocked down (CKD) kits at its Aurangabad plant. It also plans to launch its branded pre-owned cars business later this year, coinciding with the launch of its `D' segment car, Laurin & Klement.

Mr Bipin Datar, Head - Sales & Marketing, Skoda Auto India, told presspersons here on Wednesday that as per the MoU it had signed with the Government, the company had to change to CKD assembly within seven years. The MoU was signed in 1999.

Skoda Auto India hoped to begin work on CKD assembly by April and start assembling CKD kits by April 2004. The investment would be higher than the $56-million the company had committed itself to in the MoU, Mr Datar said. Changes had to be made for CKD assembly and the number of employees would go up from about 130 now to 500-600.

At present, the two variants of the Skoda Octavia — the Ambiente and the Elegance — are brought as semi-knocked down (SKD) kits and assembled at the Aurangabad plant.

With the Laurin & Klement slated for launch in May-June, and possibility of other cars being brought in, the company hoped to end this calendar year with sales of 8,500 units. Last year, it sold 4,500 cars, with the 1.9-litre turbo diesel version accounting for 80 per cent of sales. The number of dealerships would go up from 16 to 19 during this year. There would also be 39 service points.

Skoda Auto India hoped to record a turnover of Rs 450 crore for the financial year ending March 31, 2003, although Mr Datar would not commit himself on what the profit or loss would be. Next year, he expected the company to be in the black.

The Laurin & Klement, Mr Datar said, would be available only in the diesel version and would be priced in the Rs 14-lakh range. It hoped to sell about 600 units of this car in this calendar year.

To a question, he said the company was facing a problem with the Government on the import duties it paid. While the Octavia kits conformed to the definition of an SKD kit, it was being charged customs duty for completely built units (CBUs), which was higher than that levied on SKD kits. Over and above this, the company was asked to pay excise duty. Skoda Auto India had taken this up with the Government. He added that the company advancing its CKD assembly plans could also be in response to this problem it was facing.

Mr Datar said Skoda Auto India was studying the market and evaluating the options for introducing the Superb, which would be in the Rs 22-24 lakh range and positioned against the Mercedes Benz `C' class. "This is the first time any manufacturer is entering that segment, where only the Mercedes Benz is present," he said.

Skoda Auto India was also looking into the possibility of launching the Fabia, which would be priced around Rs 8 lakh. The company had the option of introducing both the sedan and estate versions of the car.

Mr Datar said that a high-level delegation from Skoda Auto of the Czech Republic, the parent company of Skoda Auto India, was expected to visit India on March 27 to assess the possibility of indigenisation in the Skoda models. The delegation's visit had been put off because of the war in Iraq. Skoda Auto India had lined up a meeting for the delegation with 25 vendors, including those in tyres, horns and batteries. He said that Skoda Auto India hoped to launch its branded pre-owned cars business, likely to be named Skoda Signature, by May-June. Initially, this business would deal only with Skoda vehicles, helping Octavia owners trade-in for a Laurin & Klement. Later on, the company would also deal with cars of other manufacturers in the upper end of the `C' segment, he added.

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