Skoda Karoq Could Soon Return To India As A Locally Assembled Model
Skoda launched the Karoq in India last year but on account of being a CBU, only 1,000 units of the Skoda Karoq were allotted in the first batch. Although it was decently expensive, Skoda soon managed to sell out all 1,000 units of the Karoq in just five months by October 2020. Since then, the model was temporarily dropped from the carmaker's official website. Now, a recent RTO document suggests that the Karoq could soon be making a comeback.
But there's more good news than just the Skoda Karoq making a comeback. The earlier batch was brought into India as a full import but Skoda could be assembling the Karoq in India this time. Skoda Director Zac Hollis had previously hinted at such a possibility and given the popularity of the Karoq, this could very well be on the cards. Skoda launched the Karoq in India for a price of INR 24.99 lakh but if it is locally assembled this time around, prices could go down by a significant margin. The Karoq's sibling from Volkswagen - the T-Roc - too was sold out in 2020 and VW recently announced that the T-Roc will soon make a comeback as well.
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The Karoq was sold in India in a single fully loaded trim and it came very well equipped with features. On the inside, the Skoda Karoq packed features like panoramic sunroof, 10.25-inch Virtual Cockpit, 8-inch Amundsen infotainment system with sat-nav, 12-way electrically adjustable driver seat including lumbar support with three memory function, 8-speaker sound system and configurable ambient lighting.
On the safety front, Skoda equips the Karoq in India with features like 9 airbags, headlight washers, ASR (Anti Slip Regulation), EDS (Electronic Differential Lock), ESC (Electronic Stability Control), TPMS (Tyre Pressure Monitoring System) and iBuzz driver alert system. Under the hood, the Karoq was powered by a 1.5-litre TSI turbo-petrol four-cylinder engine that produced 150hp and 250Nm of peak torque. The engine came mated to a 7-speed DSG transmission, driving the front-wheels. The Karoq can sprint from 0-100 kph in 9 seconds and it tops out at 202 kph.
The Skoda Karoq competes with the likes of Jeep Compass and Hyundai Tucson in India. It is however not known at this point as to when the Karoq will be brought back to the country. It could even take some while. The company has said that their focus is currently on their first made-in-India product, the Kushaq, and it is slated for a mid-2021 launch. The Karoq could thus arrive after that.
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