Skoda India is working on a new mid-size sedan based on the MQB AO IN platform and it will replace the Rapid when its launched towards the end of 2021.
Skoda India is working on a brand new mid-sized sedan for our market. This upcoming sedan will be the replacement for the Skoda Rapid in our market. The Rapid has been on sale in India for about a decade now. Skoda is expected to launch this new mid-size sedan (Skoda likes to call it a notchback) in our market by the end of 2021, according to Zac Hollis, director (Sales, Service & Marketing), Skoda Auto India.
This new Skoda sedan has been internally codenamed as ANB. Like most other new Skoda and Volkswagen cars, the Rapid replacement will also be underpinned by a tailored-for-India version of the modular MQB A0 platform, known as MQB A0 IN. But before bringing this new sedan, Skoda has a slew of new SUVs lined up for their launch in India including a Creta- rivalling SUV that will also be based on the same platform.
This new midsize sedan will share some of its body panels with the new Volkswagen Vitrus sold in South America. However, it will mostly feature Skoda’s own design elements to help differentiate it from its VW cousin. It will also be much bigger in terms of dimensions than the current-gen Rapid sold in India. Expect the length to go up by around 100mm and it will also be much wider.
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Skoda is expected to equip the car with a long list of features including LED lights all around, a full-digital instrument cluster, ambient lighting and a large touchscreen. Under the hood, the Rapid replacement will be powered by a locally built 1.0-litre TSI petrol engine that will deliver 116hp and around 200Nm. There are no talks of a diesel engine as of yet as the carmaker is anyway phasing out all its diesel engines before the BS6 norms hit in April, 2020.
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In addition to this, the new Skoda sedan will also see its Volkswagen twin in India – the model set to replace the Vento sedan – mostly around the same time period. The Skoda Rapid replacement and Volkswagen’s version of it will rival the likes of the next-gen Honda City, Hyundai’s heavily updated Verna, the Maruti Suzuki Ciaz, and its Toyota-badged derivative.
