[motorhead5]

Agree that volume of xuv700 is not a fair comparison. But they have a very good product in kodiaq. Actually most of their products are good. They are all doing low numbers (compared to what each are capable of) because of their attitude even after having good products and technology. And the same attitude goes to their dealers too..

Will they be able to survive here by targetting such low numbers. First set bottom expectations and plan, then create hype by saying it went above expectations leading to multiple quarters of wait time for volume of few 100s. Afterwards, exit the market saying we are not able to become profitable here..

[SilverSmoke]

True, profits always come from volumes not from expensive products.

My dealer's sales head agreed they are focusing strongly on Kushaq/Slavia volumes. Kodiaq being premium offering, it might be an another reason for it's low volume.

[sunikkat]

Originally Posted by motorhead5

Will they be able to survive here by targetting such low numbers. First set bottom expectations and plan, then create hype by saying it went above expectations leading to multiple quarters of wait time for volume of few 100s. Afterwards, exit the market saying we are not able to become profitable here..

Agree on volumes, which they need to target with Kushaq, Slavia etc. That’s where it’s important that they launch Slavia right, without any issues of earlier Kushaq’s.

However the fact is Kodiaq can never be a volume player in India. It’s at a high price point and though it is a good product it cannot pull people away from best sellers like Fortuner. And to add its petrol only model.

Even Skoda management being aware of these things would have set a lower target and surprisingly it got more takers. Might be the initial pricing and a segment of people liked what they had to offer.

[neel911]

The Chip Shortage could be another thing playing a role as well in terms of their planning. But looking at above notes, we probably need to stop thinking about year end discounts if they have already received enough orders they can support for entire year

Waiting time of 12 months for any car is crazy [Thar(earlier), XUV700 and now Kodiaq]. By the time, people will get deliveries, there will probably be another facelift

[urban legend]

Have gone ahead and booked a white sportsline. The L and K after the price hike is too expensive for me. And the sportsline looks really awesome. It has all the features I need.

[niv26]

It looks like Skoda is able to pull Ford Endeavor customers and underestimated the demand.
Hyundai or Kia should bring their proper 7 seater SUV to the Indian market, may not be premium enough, but definitely value for money.
For now, someone like me, who wants to buy a replacement for Fortuner or Endeavor the only option is MG Gloster.

[AKB]

My hypothesis is that Skoda managed to attract a segment of users who did not want a Fortuner or other ladder frame based 'macho' SUVs. This is a segment which is fine with a turbo petrol and values a good cabin, decent creature comforts and respectable styling. These are the folks who want to differentiate themselves from the Fortuner 'wallahs'

This is my hypothesis, will be great to hear other's views.

I believe we have a new category emerging.

[sidpak]

Kind of agree with your hypothesis AKB,

Many of us are keen on going for a SUV and yet look forward to a drive which is relatively more comfortable, refined and with premium styling.

This is not really a new category as such but definitely a category which is seriously short on choices in India, if you look at the international reviews from any portals from UK, Australia etc they end up comparing anything upto 10 SUV's in this segment.

As a consumer I wish we had more to choose from.

Cheers,

Sid

[pk1972]

Originally Posted by AKB

My hypothesis is that Skoda managed to attract a segment of users who did not want a Fortuner or other ladder frame based 'macho' SUVs. This is a segment which is fine with a turbo petrol and values a good cabin, decent creature comforts and respectable styling. These are the folks who want to differentiate themselves from the Fortuner 'wallahs'

This is my hypothesis, will be great to hear other's views.

I believe we have a new category emerging.

Completely agree - suave looks, feature loaded, mild off-roading if need be, supreme comfort, nimble to drive in city / fast highway cruiser are all the reasons I waited for more than an year and booked Kodiaq. I do believe this category will grow for following reasons -

1. Someone with an budget of Rs.50 lacs. The Germans have become very expensive and are good 4 seaters only.
2. Fortuner which is the other car in this range is opposite of everything i described above except off-roading capability.
3. Sedans becoming tough to manage in cities given the state of our roads / traffic.

[BalaSNKL]

Booked Lava Blue Kodiaq L&K booking on 4th January. We still can change our mind, but having read through T-BHP reviews and forum discussions, we will most likely go ahead with Kodiaq. As to the vehicle, enough and more has been said by better informed and qualified folks than me. I will only stick to my personal thought process and view on certain points.

Our starting point:
1. We need one all purpose vehicle. We never felt the need for a second car and never kept one.
2. We want to “upgrade” from the current Jetta bought 2011. Over the years, we moved from M800 to Accent to Corolla to the current Jetta.
3. We decided to switch to an SUV, motivated among others by Indian driving conditions, space for luggage for our long drives and ease of carrying cycle(s) without having to remove the wheels.
4. Finally, we want something not too big and not too small.

Here’s how we started filtering the options:
1. NO to those who do not yet have a respectable dealer/service network or history in India
2. OK with Japanese and Koreans, but biased in favour of the Europeans.
3. SUVs (Q7, X5, GLE, Gloster, Fortuner, Endeavor) are too big
4. Compacts (Creta, Taigun, Kushaq, Seltos) are too small and probably be a downgrade from Jetta
Very quickly, we were down to Q5, GLC, X3 and Tucson, and the soon to be launched Tiguan and Kodiaq.

Checked out the three German luxury brands and my original conviction – Never buy an entry level luxury brand – got reiterated. Notwithstanding the launch of Q3, X1 and GLA, the models under our consideration are still “entry” level, in my view. Briefly thought, but ruled out second-hand option – much has changed in the recent 3-4 years in terms of features etc.

All came down to facelifts of Tiguan, Kodiaq and Tucson and started pinning hopes on VAG/Skoda siblings. Found Tiguan underwhelming. Thought Kodiaq would be good if it gets what Superb L&K has and the (mostly unused) third row neatly folds down.

Given the shared power train, I started looking at Tiguan and Kodiaq in a very simplistic way as four variants (ignoring the third row, of course) namely Tiguan, K-Style, K-Sportline and K-L&K. And, I went K-L&K.

We can't get everything we want. Thought Adaptive Cruise Control would be good feature to have, but that's not on offer unfortunately. On some of the other points discussed in the Forum:
- Ok with light colour interiors. Didn’t have any problem maintaining my Jetta
- Ok with small infotainment screen. Liked the screen being part of the dash rather than sticking out.
- Ok with low fuel economy considering that of Jetta’s adjusted for the power & size. Anyway, see no merit looking at FE at this price point.
- Ok with the size. Its only a few cm longer than my Jetta and not dramatically longer than Tiguan.

Experience with Mody Skoda, Worli – SA was good. Knew the cars. Was responsive to my queries and calls. Called me on 4th Jan and took the pre-booking. Shared information as and when made available / known. Connected me to their finance team to discuss options. Went to the showroom on the launch day and ended up unveiling the New Kodiaq and also cutting the cake.

And now, we wait ………

[adi_petrolhead]

Originally Posted by BalaSNKL

Booked Lava Blue Kodiaq L&K booking on 4th January.

Did the dealer promise you any specific date of delivery? Any timelines? Ahmedabad dealer has around 30 bookings, mostly all L&K, he hasn't got a single car yet, and being told initial deliveries will only begin in end of February, first week March. In our Team-Bhp data, we saw that Skoda manufactured 50 cars in December 2021 itself, but suppose all went as demo cars and only very few went for deliveries, after customers pulling some strings. Waiting for our data to come out with Jan 2022 figures.

[BalaSNKL]

Originally Posted by adi_petrolhead

Did the dealer promise you any specific date of delivery? Any timelines? Ahmedabad dealer has around 30 bookings, mostly all L&K, he hasn't got a single car yet, and being told initial deliveries will only begin in end of February, first week March. In our Team-Bhp data, we saw that Skoda manufactured 50 cars in December 2021 itself, but suppose all went as demo cars and only very few went for deliveries, after customers pulling some strings. Waiting for our data to come out with Jan 2022 figures.

Near identical feedback from my Dealer - around 30 bookings, mostly L&K and Lava Blue in demand. No delivery so far.

[hondafanboy]

Originally Posted by BalaSNKL

Booked Lava Blue Kodiaq L&K booking on 4th January.

And now, we wait ………

Nicely done. This is how the purchasing decision should happen especially in the price bracket of 40-50L. Some folks unnecessarily complicate decision making and end up blaming manufactures for everything pricing ,features etc. Once you know what suits you and your family and the budget you have, I guess things become more clearer.

Congratulations ! Hope you get yours soon. Also, great job on selecting that colour.

[Vikram_agg]

Originally Posted by hrishig

As mentioned earlier white color delivers should happen first. I had long discussions with multiple Skoda India contact points and they told me that lava blue color is in demand. Skoda offered white color which I simply refused. Currently, our lava blue delivery date is by Feb end or march 1st week with the verbal promise of ex-showroom as the launch date. (Booking date was in Dec 21.)

I have also booked white color L&K and the sales rep is hilariously & failing in trying to lie to me. He told me that by Feb 1st week things should get clearer and no deliveries are taking place, anywhere. I informed him about the gentleman getting a delivery of white sportline on 28th Jan. He suddenly changed his words and further claimed to have a white sportline ready for delivery, stating that white colors are being dispatched earlier.

Why I find all this extremely unprofessional is because the Noida dealership is advertised as "World's first Skoda Experience Center" and according to the staff there, it is being run by the company itself. If anything, these guys should have 1st dibs on any official information, regarding anything.

[sidpak]

Hi,

Expecting to get delivery of my Skoda Kodiaq around middle of Feb,

The dealer is trying to bundle a 'Accessory Kit' along with the car, the items which I found useful in the kit are the

- All weather foot mats
- Rear and Front Mud Flaps
- Body Cover

This accessory kit costs ~ 18K with the car,

Am I better off buying the accessories from outside or does it make sense to take the accessory kit supplied by the dealer ?

Cheers,
Sid