Czech car maker Skoda Auto has revealed its strategy when it comes to having diesel engine powered cars in its portfolio in the BS6 era. In an exclusive chat with carandbike, Zac Hollis, Brand Director Skoda Auto India has said that diesel is not finished yet for the company in India and tests are being done on various diesels mills to see if they're feasible enough to be launched. He however added that the bigger cars from the brand are more likely to get diesel engines if that happens at all.
The upcoming new Rapid however will just be launched as a petrol-only model. It will be one of the first cars to hit the roads once things normalise post the lockdown. Initially the sedan will get just a 6-speed manual transmission option while an automatic variant will be launched later in the year. Hollis said,"The 1.0 TSI in the Rapid is 25% more economical than the outgoing Petrol engine and is cheaper to maintain than a diesel engine. The cost of ownership of TSI Rapid is very similar to the cost of ownership of the diesel engine."
Initially the new Rapid will get just a 6-speed manual transmission option while Automatic will come later in the year.
The lightweight 1.0 litre TSI engine on the Rapid churns out 108 bhp along with delivering a peak torque of 175 Nm. Bookings have already opened on the company website and there have been orders but Hollis says it is not a real indication of customer demand owing to the Corona crisis. He also went on to state that the Rapid will eventually be phased out from the market once an all-new sedan is ready to launch as a part of the India 2.0 project.
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