Skoda Auto’s mid-size sedan Slavia has received a trend-defying response from India, bucking the rather swift consumer drift towards sports utility vehicles (SUV), which have captured nearly half of India’s passenger vehicle market.

The Czech car brand Skoda Auto brought in the Slavia earlier this month to cash in on the drought of new launches in the C sedan segment (priced Rs 10 lakh and above) dominated by Honda City. As the SUV and similar body styles have emerged as a buyer-favourite across geographies, manufacturers have refrained from experimenting with traditional segments such as sedans due to lack of demand. 

But according to industry sources, bookings for the Skoda Slavia have shot past 6,000 units, with zero cancellations since its unveiling in mid-February, followed by the model’s price reveal in early March. The buyer response is perhaps even better than what Skoda had received for the Kushaq, a mid-size SUV it launched in the same price band in the middle of last year.

Bucking the trend

Director, Sales and Marketing, Skoda Auto India, Zac Hollis, said, “The traditional sedan segment has been falling. (But) it’s not because people’s tastes have changed, it’s because nothing was offered. If nothing new gets launched, then people (will) move to a new launch. Manufacturers have continuously launched SUVs, which has led to a hype for the segment.”

According to the sales data collated by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), for the April-February period of this year, Hyundai, Tata Motors (till December), Skoda Auto, Volkswagen, Toyota Kirloskar and Nissan have sold more utility vehicle (including SUVs) than passenger cars, thanks to new SUV launches. Kia, Renault, MG Motor and Mahindra & Mahindra offer only utility vehicles and no passenger cars. 

As the reliance on the SUV segment has grown, the traditional sedan segment has been largely ignored by manufacturers. It is here that Skoda aims to make the most of the underlying opportunity with Slavia.

“We are famous for sedans. For 20 years we have been bringing sedans to India in the form of the Octavia, Superb, Laura and Rapid. Our plan is to lead the segments where the Slavia is present, which means selling 2,500-3,000 cars a month,” Hollis said. At such a sales run-rate, the Slavia has a waiting period of around two months.

Comeback by sedans

The poor response received by the Toyota Yaris and Honda Civic, both of which were discontinued within three years of their launch due to weak demand, added to the declining interest among manufacturers to offer sedans in the market However, after falling continuously in recent years, the C segment sedans and above have made a quiet comeback.

Their sales in the April-February period, according to SIAM data, has risen by nearly 14.5 per cent to 78,524 as against sales of 65,517 units posted in the same period of the previous year. This has resulted in an improvement of their market share, too, from 5.13 per cent to 6.08 per cent. 

“In the next few years, the segment could double from here on. We will add new trim lines, colours and based on consumer feedback, we will make changes to the product. We are confident of attracting new buyers, as well as those who had sedans in the past, before they moved to SUVs,” Hollis added. 

Skoda’s parent, Volkswagen, also followed the Slavia with the launch of its own sedan, Virtus, a few days ago, competing in the very same segment. While VW has unveiled the car globally, details about its pricing will be shared in May.

Related Topics