[Autonorm]

Below is the link to an interesting article I came across today. I am sure the competition between VW and Skoda is going to be very relevant in the Indian context too especially since VW wants to expand in India and have many overlaps in their model line-up's.

http://www.spiegel.de/international/...-a-682530.html

[alto99]

Incidentally I came across another similar one.
The Skoda Conundrum | The Truth About Cars

[vikrantj]

This is very much expected. People say Skoda ig poor mans Volkswagen. This means you get a very similar performance of a Volkswagen engine at a much lower price. In India this is not very obvious since VW have only Jetta and Passat competing with Laura and Superb and Skoda doing much better than VW.

[Technocrat]

Interesting Article.

I am not sure what VW plans to do in India, I mean They have priced their hatch in a lower segment than the Fabia while the other 2 cars are priced higher than Skoda cars.

So they are confused indeed about the branding.

The initial reports had suggested that they would price the Polo just above Fabia but clearly this has not happened.

So it would be interesting to see how people perceive these 2 brands in India.

[theragingbull]

Originally Posted by vikrantj

This is very much expected. People say Skoda ig poor mans Volkswagen. This means you get a very similar performance of a Volkswagen engine at a much lower price.

Really? I thought VW was a poor man's Skoda VW means Das Auto, i.e, People's car. But yeah, that tag line doesn't go along with cars like Beetle and Phaeton. In India, Polo is cheaper than the Fabia and even the Jetta is priced below the Laura.

But one thing is true that when two manufacturers of the same parent company fight for sales, the Japanese take advantage of it

[GTO]

I've said it before and will say it again : The KEY differentiator between VW & Skoda, in India, will be service quality. VW has a huge opportunity, given the pathetic standards of Skoda's after-sales operations. And it must maximise this advantage to the fullest.

Quality of OEM service is most important in the first 3 - 4 years of ownership, where the car almost exclusively uses branded outlets. This factor can make or break many a deal.

[ac 427]

Originally Posted by theragingbull

Really? I thought VW was a poor man's Skoda VW means Das Auto, i.e, People's car. But yeah, that tag line doesn't go along with cars like Beetle and Phaeton. In India, Polo is cheaper than the Fabia and even the Jetta is priced below the Laura.

But one thing is true that when two manufacturers of the same parent company fight for sales, the Japanese take advantage of it

Das Auto means - The Car. It is Volkswagen which means Peoples Car.

The way i see it is, VW is going to have a tough time justifying why they are charging a premium over Skoda. If Skoda gets their aftersales correct (which every one doubts) VW will have a tough time in India.

Internationally also Skoda are know to make perky cars, which live up to international standards, infact the internation fabia has done exceedingly well.

Even if we compare the cars VW and Skoda cars in India, it is very clear why Skoda is doing well, lets compare the jetta / passat with Laura and Superb. Jetta and passat look like they are from an older generation of cars.

Even in terms of technology, Skoda used the TSI technology before VW did (in India), they are offering the 4x4 drive in the Superb which the passat is not....

Another point in case is the Polo, with the Polo the german car maker had such an opportunity to shake the market up buy they gave us an super boring polo...

So its clear, Skoda wants to offer more bang for the buck and if VW wants to do something about it, they better start concentrating on the cars rather than blowing money on media.

cheers,
ac

[stanjohn123]

Honestly most people in India still don't know about the poor A.S.S of Skoda.Infact they think it's a very good Luxury car.Even in my place no one talk's about Skoda's A.S.S.It's only at T-bhp that most of us are exposed to the horrendous truth about the Skoda's A.S.S(Including me !!!).

It's a fact that VW makes more reliable car's than Skoda, elsewhere in the World they have a better image than Skoda as well, so that justifies their premium they charge us.And like GTO mentioned, they have an exceptional Service quality too, unlike Skoda.

Skoda has definitely dented VW's sales(Jetta and Passat) in India with the Laura and Superb no doubt with their good value for money car's.And I guess since currently the hottest segment in India has to be the one with Swift, i20 etc. VW probably did not want to loose out in this segment to Skoda again. So they just wisely priced the Polo aggressively.

[KRf1]

VW owns Skoda . Regardless of wether Skoda makes more money or VW makes more money in the end VW is earning . IMHO they share so many parts that they would be treating India as a combined effort rather than one upmanship between the brands .

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by ac 427

The way i see it is, VW is going to have a tough time justifying why they are charging a premium over Skoda.

They don't have that problem anywhere else in the world!

Just remember: VW is poor man's Audi; Skoda is poor man's VW.

However, due to the success of Skoda's market placing in India, you are right: VW is going to have a hard time making Indians aware of their true position in the VAG hierarchy.

I think, by the way, that the development is pretty much done by VW, with Skoda following along with their versions. Remember that Skoda was a wreck and a joke (literally) until it was bought by VAG, and that wasn't that long ago.

[aparth]

I was reading somewhere that internationally Skoda has been given a better reliability and customer satisfaction rating than it's parent company VW!

[ac 427]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

They don't have that problem anywhere else in the world!

Just remember: VW is poor man's Audi; Skoda is poor man's VW.

However, due to the success of Skoda's market placing in India, you are right: VW is going to have a hard time making Indians aware of their true position in the VAG hierarchy.

I think, by the way, that the development is pretty much done by VW, with Skoda following along with their versions. Remember that Skoda was a wreck and a joke (literally) until it was bought by VAG, and that wasn't that long ago.

true, but here i said the above in the context of the indian car market. we are a very 'value' sensitive market. Any product that does not give us value we junk it.

and skoda was bought over by VW in 1991, which is a long time ago.

cheers,
ac

[stanjohn123]

Actually VW could end up like GM if they don't take any action against Skoda. Mainly because, Skoda was supposed to provide a cheaper alternative to VW which means not a superior and cheaper option combined(Just cheap). Which is actually good for us but not VW. Since according to VW, Skoda uses VW's platform and technologies, Skoda gets better at the expense of VW. This could only lead to VW's doom. Because in the end it's all up to net profit from all their acquisitions put together.Skoda though selling in large numbers don't make enough profits to justify VW's loss's i guess.

Both the companies are treated very differently or else how can anyone explain the wide difference in A.S.S between the 2 ???

[rxpaul]

Skoda India A.S.S is poor POSSIBLY because :
1. All their best engineers & mechanics are moving over to VW, Audi & BMW.
2. Could be a policy decision by VW to slowly downgrade Skoda.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by ac 427

... and skoda was bought over by VW in 1991, which is a long time ago.

Not if you are anywhere near my age! I well remember the skoda jokes