Skoda will not update the existing engines of the Octavia to BS-6 norms, thus discontinuing the car. The new 2020 Octavia will arrive only by the end of next year.
Skoda has been in the news recently for a lot of reason. First, there’s the coming to Octavia RS and the Karoq. The Kodiaq, Superb and Rapid are all losing engines or getting new ones and now, the latest news is that Skoda will be discontinuing the current-gen Octavia post April 2020 BS-6 deadline. The Octavia RS will most likely be last installment of the current-gen Octavia in India. Skoda will only debut the next-gen Octavia by 2020 and until then, there will be a huge gap in the market.
The reason for discontinuation of the Octavia is solely because of the BS-6 norms. The 1.8L TSI engine in the existing Octavia will anyway be phased out globally and Skoda will offer 1.0-,1.5- and 2.0-litre TSI engines for the 2020 Octavia. Also, the 2.0L TDI engine would require significant upgrade to make it BS-6 compliant. Because of these considerations, Skoda didn’t find it reasonable enough on the cost front to upgrade these engines to BS-6 norms for such a short period of time.
Also, the sales number of the current Octavia are not so strong for these engines to be upgraded. Thus, Skoda will discontinue the current Octavia in India and bring in the 2020 Octavia by the end of next year. This will however puts a substantial void in Skoda India’s lineup for more than 6 months. The current-gen Octavia was available in four variants – Style, Onyx, Ambition and L&K and with three engine options – 1.4-litre TSI, 1.8-litre TSI and 2.0-litre TDI. The car is priced from Rs 17.99 lakh to Rs 25.99 lakh (ex-showroom India).
That said, the 2020 Octavia is a huge step up from the current car and its certainly worth looking forward to. The design of the new Octavia is an evolution of the current Octavia but it makes the car look much more elegant and stately. The are new LED headlamps and tail lamps, reprofiled front and rear bumpers, and a much sharper overall profile than the outgoing car. The interiors of the new Octavia that has taken a massive step forward, not only in terms of technology but also perceived quality. There’s a whole new design language for the interiors as well.
Also Read : Skoda will Bring the Octavia RS to India again at the 2020 Auto Expo!
As for the engines, there will be three petrol engines on offer. The range starts off with a 1.0-litre three-cylinder turbo-petrol engine, putting out 110hp. Ten there’s a 1.5-litre four-cylinder turbo petrol engine with 150 bhp. The flagship petrol engine is a non-hybrid 2.0-litre TSI engine with 190 bhp. As for the diesel variant, there will be just one 2.0-litre unit in three states of tune – 200hp, 150hp and 115hp.
Also Read : Skoda Rapid To Lose Out On Its 1.5 Litre Diesel Engine Post BS-6
In India, we expect Skoda to offer the 1.5-litre TSI and 2.0-litre TDI engine mated to a 6-speed manual or DSG option. Skoda will have an action packed stand at the 2020 Auto Expo but the new Octavia will not be a part of the lineup. Skoda is still expected to make an announcement of the 2020 Octavia’s exact launch timeline then. The Skoda Octavia rivals the likes of the Honda Civic, Toyota Corolla Altis and the Hyundai Elantra.
