Ashish Gupta, Brand Director, Skoda Auto IndiaWith Kylaq powering Skoda’s sales for much of 2025, its leadership team believes the time has now come to explore more fuel options to woo a larger user base.
“I think from a powertrain point of view, the sub-4 metre SUV segment is almost 20 to 23 per cent taken up by CNG. So that’s a wide space which we should definitely exploit. There are a lot of customers who are looking forward to that kind of product, and that is a wide space I want to attack going forward,” Ashish Gupta, Brand Director, Skoda Auto India, told ET Auto.
As much as compressed natural gas will be among the top priorities this calendar year, there are development lead times which need to be factored into this goal because “you also have to understand that in our portfolio, we basically have turbo engines,” he added.
Getting CNG into a turbo engine is more complicated than into an MPI (multipoint injection) engine. “But now, nonetheless, we have to get into that space,” said Gupta. According to him, this would have to be a collaborative effort because by the end of the day, the powertrain and platform expertise lies with Skoda Auto headquarters in the Czech Republic.
We are present all around the world as a group and there are CNG options available in our portfolio. So that is what we are also trying to leverageAshish Gupta
India-specific tech template
India, as a market, can give inputs on “what is required, what is the price point, and what is the technology available, but it will have to be a lot of local effort this time”. This is simply because the technology available in the headquarters may not be suitable for India. As Gupta explained, “It is not as if we are looking only at Europe. We are present all around the world as a group and there are CNG options available in our portfolio. So that is what we are also trying to leverage.”
When the CNG-powered Kylaq becomes a reality, will Skoda be open to offering it in the fleet segment in India as well? Even in the sub-4-metre SUV segment, he responded, CNG is a personal choice for many customers who focus on value and total cost of ownership.
“There is a big space available even in the personal segment before we even start talking about the fleet or taxi categories,” said Gupta while affirming that the company would be open to these options too.
There is a big space available even in the personal segment before we even start talking about the fleet or taxi categoriesAshish Gupta
Horses for courses
“Definitely, why not? By the end of the day, it will all boil down to what customers prefer. The fleet and taxi segment has its own preferences and its own decision making reasons. Wherever customers are, if they want us to be present in a particular user category, I will be open to evaluating it,” he said.
Beyond the CNG drive, Skoda is keen to offer more features in its cars, where “the sky is the limit”. The idea is to bring the best value to customers while still maintaining a differentiated portfolio. This is because “if we are like everybody else, then there is no reason to buy us”.
According to Gupta, this differentiation is inherently about safe cars with excellent build quality and driving dynamics second to none. “Not many brands are there which can claim top-class European engineering in the Indian market. This remains the core of our product proposition and continues to appeal to customers. On top of that, you need to add things that people need,” he elaborated.
The mantra, therefore, is to keep evolving and trying to find places/spaces where “you can add value”. The new products planned for this year will focus on democratising technology.
We are standardising features unheard of before, like the sunroof, which will be available right from the starting trim in all cars, especially the KushaqAshish Gupta
Making technology accessible
“We are standardising features unheard of before, like the sunroof, which will be available right from the starting trim in all cars, especially the Kushaq,” continued Gupta. The sunroof was available on the mid-trim and higher versions, but “we are now starting with the sunroof right from our base variant into the classic”.
Likewise, the whole exercise of democratising technologies extends to rain-sensing wipers, many safety features, and alloy wheels, which are now becoming standard on Skoda models. Real automatic transmissions are also part of the basket.
“In Kylaq, we have just introduced the Classic Plus which basically brings all these features at a price point unheard of before,” he pointed out. While Kylaq has a six-speed automatic, the eight-speed automatic is now offered in Kushaq.
“We are upping our game both in terms of making technology accessible and offering differentiation in our products. However, you also have to make sure that the value being provided is backed up by solid cost structures. My belief is that by democratising this technology and bringing all these features, we are actually adding scale to our portfolio,” said Gupta.
Penetrating deeper into India
The year that went by saw Skoda achieve 80 per cent market coverage, and the target for 2026 is to increase this to 90 per cent. This would mean going deeper into bigger towns and also territories “where we have not been present before”.
This calendar year will also be about building trust, with a greater focus on service expansion. “With Kylaq, we have a substantial car parc available even in smaller towns. That is why we will focus first on providing service and then adding a sales touchpoint,” he explained.
Gupta said Kylaq had virtually been a game-changer for the company in 2025. “It was a transformational year for Skoda as a brand, and we wanted to make it big. That was our ambition at the start of the year as well,” he added.
Even before GST 2.0 came into effect, Kylaq was doing brisk business. It was received very well, “primarily because it is a great product for that segment”, with the right price points and, needless to add, the expansion of the network helped. “GST 2.0 provided a booster to us and the entire auto industry. So all in all, I have no complaints,” said Gupta.
Aspiration rising among buyers
While GST 2.0 helped the cause of the sub-4 metre segment, bigger cars also gained, with levies down from around 48 per cent to 40 per cent. The Skoda Brand Director was of the view that customers also want slightly bigger cars with premium features and more powertrain options.
“Some of the new things that people were adding in the Kushaq segment will now start flowing into the sub 4 metre category as well. With price points going down, there is space to make your cars more valuable and I think that is the trend we will see evolving,” he explained.
Since GST 2.0 was unleashed in the market, the structure of the Indian automotive industry has not changed much, observed Gupta. The contribution of the sub-4 metre segment continues to be somewhere around 29 to 30 per cent. In the first six to seven months of 2025, this category’s contribution was actually “declining heavily,” but it has since been corrected.
“So it is not that as if it (GST 2.0) really made these cars fly off the shelves. Yes, compared to what was happening till July, they are doing better but I think it is more or less stable at the contribution we started with in the preceding year,” said Gupta.
While preference for SUVs is an irreversible trend, hatches are “pretty much stable”, and manufacturers are taking advantage of the GST duty rationalisation to also again start pushing entry-level cars, “which is not a bad thing for the economy”.
SUV shift happening worldwide
Customer preference is shifting towards slightly bigger cars and SUV body styles, not only in India but worldwide. “This is a trend which is likely to continue. Eventually, the fundamentals of how or what works for a brand and what works in the market remain the same,” he said.
It is about making sure that “you provide a rational reason to buy your products” and also an emotional one. So those fundamentals do not change for any brand, and the key is to make sure that “your products and services” offer value to the customer.
In the case of Kylaq, which is less than a year old, there is a “very positive” rub-off coming in from the premium image that Skoda has always carried in the country, beginning with Octavia, which was part of the luxury segment.
“Because of that positive rub-off, our mix is more towards the higher end of Kylaq as well. So customers do perceive us as premium,” explained Gupta.
The Indian market, he continued, has evolved quite a bit, with aspirations that are not very different among customers in Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru, as well as in smaller metros like Durgapur, Dindigul and Hubli. People want ease of mobility, safe cars and good driving dynamics.
“So I am not differentiating between Tier 1, 2 and 3 regions,” he reiterated.
