With sub four-meter, we want to significantly increase our market share in India: Skoda Auto CEO Zellmer

India is crucial to the growth strategy of Skoda Auto as we bring our broadest and most up-to-date product portfolio ever to the customers. India on its own has huge potential which we’ve seen by more than doubling our sales since 2021. It also gives us a competitive advantage for our international expansion strategy. Our development and manufacturing base in Pune is a springboard into ASEAN and the Middle East. The capabilities we have to build in India for India and related export capacity are helping us achieve new international sales beyond Europe. Soon, we will add a new, locally developed model to our line-up in India in the important compact SUV segment. At the same time, we continue to consider other models for Indian consumers, including intensively testing our popular all-electric Enyaq in the country. Electric vehicle (EV) penetration in India is expected to grow to between 15 per cent and 30 per cent, and global strategy is to offer customers the ‘best of both worlds’ with their choice of electric or highly efficient combustion powertrains.

As you know, often the European car companies, if you look at our success in India, it’s not in your face. We’re still learning and you know it’s a case for us...we’re willing to learn to be totally customer centric. I think we are on the right track, let’s see. In our portfolio, with the addition of the sub-four meter SUV, I think that would be very promising in such a competitive environment. I think it’s lessons learnt...often we build cars according to our own expectations, and they tend to be over-engineered. And, for that engineering, it always comes at a price tag and of course it’s something that weakens our competitive position. So we need to learn, we need to be aware of the sweet spot...And, this is something that we are of course aware of and we are building exactly the cars that customers in India are after and willing to pay for and willing to sign on for.

The funny thing is, we always come from regulatory environment of government or manufacturers…let’s ask consumers...any business is always on the right path if you respect consumers…this is what we need to do. Looking around the globe, the preference is not just EV, the preference is not just internal combustion engine (ICE), it is something in between. You can see that everywhere where the offer is there. I would strongly recommend to look into that and respect what the consumers want to buy. We will not be able to force the people to buy the battery electric vehicle (BEV) just like that. It will not happen. We need something in between

With the sub four-meter, we want to significantly increase our market share in India. We want four per cent segment share in the Indian market which is very crowded. In the long-term, our strategic goal is for a five per cent market share between Skoda and Volkswagen together and we want to be most successful European brand in India. This year for us is very special. We are ramping up within production side and adding a new model and its volumes.  

It’s a challenge, you have to have the right values. Us choosing partners – it’s not easy to find a partner for a lifelong relationship, for a marriage...and even so more difficult in a business environment. We need same mindset, same values. Not opportunistic, but full of opportunities.

Export is an imp business model when we look at profits. With Skoda, we are still rather humble with exporting less than 10,000 cars a year. But Volkswagen, has shown us what is possible. Other brands within the portfolio are exporting around 40,000 cars a year. I would want us hitting the one-lakh cars once everything is on full steam, when our portfolio is right, to then also benefit from exporting cars.