[nitkel]

Originally Posted by 84.monsoon

Kushaq needs to regain momentum quickly. 10,000 bookings after 1 month of lauch is not a great number considering the volume positioning of the car. Even the Thar which is a niche vehicle, had 25K plus bookings soon after launch if I remeber right. I think the premium pricing and the initial reports of ECU issues exaggerated hugely in social media were the root causes of the low number of bookings.

Unless Skoda can slash prices by a lakh overall or add a lot more features at the current prices, there's no way that they can increase their sales. I don't remember a car in recent times which came back strongly after a weak start. The VAG twins will not sell more than 4-5k units combined monthly over the long term, and there's not much they can do about it. Lastly, the ECU issues had a lot more potential to tarnish Skoda's image had the mainstream media picked it up. They are still not in the clear yet as the new pumps need to prove their reliability.

[VEA]

Existing owners of Kushaq will feel cheated when a new variant or product change is brought out within a couple of months of launch. Skoda seriously over estimated their strength to sell the Kushaq as-is in large numbers in the Indian market. I have serious doubts that this new iteration may have other subtle improvements including better interior fit and finish and materials etc apart from the 6 airbags and TPMS. Skoda may price it at a max 30-50k higher so that existing owners are not felt cheated and prospective buyers won’t feel it’s overpriced. Any higher than this the exiting owners will suddenly feel they have a VFM product in their hands and potential buyers looking elsewhere. Within a year in all probability the increased price will be neutralised with discounts once the new product sheen wears off.

I had booked a Kushaq style variant and wasn’t really bothered about about the EPC issue. I gave Skoda the benefit of doubt and it seems they have responded well to the issue. Now, the car is due to arrive at the dealer next week and I am supposed to make the payment sometime soon. The news of a new variant or updated style variant has dampened my enthusiasm. The volatile nature of the product and the information overload is making me thinking again. If the Compass Petrol AT had a half decent performance or the Seltos wasn’t as stiff on the ride, I would have no doubt cancelled the booking.

[rAijin_]

Inclusion of 6 airbags and TMPS on style variant is a welcome move. Kudos to the Skoda team for listening to the feedbacks and acting on it. Yes, the initial buyers may feel cheated, but this is always the case when existing issues are corrected on a car ( facelift or otherwise ). While previous buyers may not get 6 airbags, they did get everything else at a cheaper price.
What needs to be seen is:

• How much price will be increased? I think it would be between 1L to 1.8L. Now, would this price justify the additional amount over the competition?
• Which features will get removed? I am sure few features from Style AT variant will be removed to keep the price competitive ( to keep it ~1L ). Similar to how VW Taigun 1.5 DSG GT+ does not get Ventilated seats.
• Would there be any other cost cuttings that we may not notice?

[NevGin]

Originally Posted by rAijin_

How much price will be increased? I think it would be between 1L to 1.8L.

Are your essentially saying that ex showroom could be between 18.6 to 19.4 lakhs for these inclusions? Should that become reality I will be surprised if the they do even a third of their targeted sales.

[rAijin_]

Originally Posted by NevGin

Are your essentially saying that ex showroom could be between 18.6 to 19.4 lakhs for these inclusions? Should that become reality I will be surprised if the they do even a third of their targeted sales.

Yes, if they are adding 6 airbags and TMPS without cutting down any other feature, I believe this might be the range.
Or, they may cut down on few existing features of Style AT and/or do some cost cutting that we may never get to know.

[srinivas794]

Originally Posted by Artyom

It would be worth giving the same gentleman a call and discuss and point out the fact that you were ready to wait for this version and now when it has been confirmed why is Skoda not ready to take your booking back and book the newer one. Emphasizing that Skoda already has your money, so all the risk is yours and in lieu of that, all you are asking is to cancel the booking and rebook the newer version. Worth a try in my opinion.

Hi Everyone,

I was able to convince the dealership that I was ready to wait a few more months and my rebooking for 1.5DSG AT with 6 airbags/TPMS was accepted by them. They cannot confirm when they can deliver to me but hopefully, by the end of this year/early next year, I can get to see my new car. Nonetheless, I am sure it will be worth the wait for me.

Also, all previous features like ventilated seats exist on this and only 2 new feature upgrades (TPMS/6 airbags ) are added at some cost.

Thanks for all the advice on this forum.

I hope this helps someone.

[CircleOfLife]

Originally Posted by VEA

Existing owners of Kushaq will feel cheated when a new variant or product change is brought out within a couple of months of launch.

This is where we as customers lack maturity in mindset. What is the need to feel cheated?

One bought a product based on what was on offer on that day.

Without any specific of these 6 airbags and tpms being added in exiting style without a price increase or any new variant is being carved out isn’t clear. Also doesn’t look it is coming before January-22. That is already good 6 months from product launch.

let’s save the feeing cheated argument for a later date.

A manufacturer in the market responds to changing market dynamics to stay relevant. If Skoda would have done this correction a year later, there would be a whole lot of people who would say this manufacturer is not agile and on flip side they end up addressing issues quickly, then another set of folks would say company is cheating existing customers

Consider the way another manufacturer does it. Simply drop the whole variant and introduce a rebadge variant with price increase. Not much hue and cry here. This is where Skoda looses the plot, how to manage PR.

[Venkatesh]

Originally Posted by maverickNerd

So, it is a fuel pump issue, and official communication is coming soon.

Zac Hollis about fuel pump issues



Skoda will issue an official recall once they have enough stock to replace the faulty fuel pump.



Link

[VEA]

Originally Posted by CircleOfLife

This is where we as customers lack maturity in mindset. What is the need to feel cheated?

One bought a product based on what was on offer on that day.

I agree with your view that the manufacturer is not cheating here. In fact they are moving fast which is to be appreciated. But a car is not a consumable, for some it is a very long term purchase. Emotions do play here. They might had the budget to buy Style with 6 airbags, but it didn’t happen because the product was not offered. Now, their car is barely a month old, and they are among the first buyers after launch, they hear an improved version is coming in a few weeks and price is to be announced in a few days. Not Jan 2022. Now their cars are a little less desirable in the used market. Less perceived value.

Not cheating for sure, but a little dent in trust may be, maybe feeling short changed. The fact that the company is in total control of the decision making process doesn’t help either.

[DragonHawk]

Though I haven’t been a victim of EPC issue, my 1.5MT was one of the listed ones in recall. Even though dealer didn’t call or inform me about mine being in the list. I just proactively called my dealer to verify if VIN is eligible for recall. Dealer reciprocated with confirmation and got my fuel pump replaced today. I haven’t noticed any difference during my return home. Got to know that the one which is being is replaced is made in Slovakia and couldn’t get any details about the new pump.

This looks like a silent recall, however some dealers are proactively calling impacted owners to visit but some are delaying. Overall job took almost a day and I would request whoever is owning 1.0 or 1.5 may ask their respective dealers to cross check the VIN. As per dealer, during PDI, they are replacing the pump of the cars which are part of recall. So this means cars which are currently being readied to be shipped from the plant might have the new pump and the ones already in dealer yard, they are replacing it during PDI.

[viren83]

Originally Posted by RD150

Kudos to Zac for being vocal and accepting the faulty fuel pump. But I love how he shared the blame on fuel quality as well. So was Kushaq tested only with "Premium" fuel.

I just hope VW's Ashish Gupta doesn't come up with "Premium fuel for premium car for premium feel"

A question for Mods and VW/Skoda experts.

I've purchased a Polo AT 1.0 recently. Shall I be concerned about that the fuel-pump as newer polo's have the same engine+gearbox combo and I am assuming that the fuel pump is same too.

[yesyeswe]

Originally Posted by viren83

A question for Mods and VW/Skoda experts.

I've purchased a Polo AT 1.0 recently. Shall I be concerned about that the fuel-pump as newer polo's have the same engine+gearbox combo and I am assuming that the fuel pump is same too.

The engine and gearbox combo is same but the engines are in a different tune which in my understanding required a different fuel pump. No polo owner has reported this issue so don't worry about it.

[eccentric]

Originally Posted by DragonHawk

Got to know that the one which is being is replaced is made in Slovakia and couldn’t get any details about the new pump.
.

This is exactly what I was looking for. Kindly confirm the mileage in your car prior to the pump replacement.

Please share pictures of the pump if you have any. Thanks!

[DragonHawk]

Originally Posted by eccentric

This is exactly what I was looking for. Kindly confirm the mileage in your car prior to the pump replacement.

Please share pictures of the pump if you have any. Thanks!

I used to get consistent FE of around 19kmpl. Today drove back to Bangalore, I no real difference in terms of mileage or pickup and one being replaced with is again Made in Slovakia, so all those rumours of made in India fuel pump is put to rest.

Here you go

[varun_ro]

I had received a call from JMD Skoda on the 2nd of September itself to visit the service center for a 'checkup'. Had got my delivery on the 20th of July so assuming it was one from the first batch. However, due to time constraints, had to wait till 16th September to visit the Service center. The fuel pump was replaced. Took a good 5 hours for the entire process, which I guess also includes loads of paper work for them as they need to click pictures of the part and get approval for the replacement.

The fuel pump has been replaced. Wasn't charged a penny. No change in performance. I suggest current owners to call your dealer and arrange an appointment if you haven't received any calls already.