Monday, November 01, 2021
By Kamal Swami
Journey Of Skoda Rapid Ends In Indian Car Market
Czech carmaker has phased out it's best selling compact sedan Rapid from the Indian car market. The compact sedan was launched in 2011 and during its existence of a decade in the Indian car market, it recorded sales of 100,000 units. According to reports, the company will replace the Rapid with a new compact sedan Slavia. It is rumoured that Skoda will launch the compact sedan Slavia in India on November 18, 2021. News regarding the phase-out of Rapid was confirmed by Zac Hollis, Director - Sales and Marketing, Skoda Auto India.
Replying to a tweet from one of the Twitter users, Zac Hollis, tweeted, "Hi Som. Rapid production has now finished with last batch of cars the incredible Matt effect cars now in showrooms. Rapid has garnered 100,000 customers in India and even this year attracted 10% segment share". A tweet from Zac Hollis has also ended the rumours of Skoda continuing Rapid along with Rapid.
The Skoda Rapid was developed on the VW’s PQ25 platform which also underpins Volkswagen Venta and Skoda Fabia. During the ten years of existence in the Indian car market, the Rapid was available with different engine options starting from a 1.6-litre petrol engine to a 1.5-litre diesel engine. Recently the company introduced a 1.0-litre TSP petrol engine in its line-up. The transmission duties included the options of a manual gear transmission system, DSG transmission system and a torque convertor system offered in the recently launched TSI engine option.
Speaking about the notable features available in Skoda Rapid, it came with lots of contemporary features like climate control, a touchscreen infotainment system that supports connectivity with Apply CarPlay and Android Auto, four airbags, a multi-functional steering wheel, Mirror Link, and a few more.
Talking about the new offering Skoda Slavia it will be launched on November 18, 2021, and the deliveries will begin from the beginning of next year. Under the hood, it will be powered by a 1.5-litre TSI engine that will churn the power of 148 bhp. There will be also an option of a powerful 1.0-TSI engine that will churn the power of 113 bhp. The transmission duties will include the options of a six-speed manual gear transmission system, a six-speed torque converter, and a seven-speed DSG transmission system.
