The first-generation Skoda Kodiaq, launched in India seven years ago, will last for a few more months before the second-generation SUV arrives next year.
If you are among those waiting for the launch of the new Skoda Kodiaq, you will have to wait a little longer. Skoda India will launch the second-generation Kodiaq by mid-2025, but only after the stocks of the first-generation SUV, which was first launched here a full seven years ago, are exhausted. In a conversation with CarandBike, Petr Janeba, Brand Director, Skoda Auto India, confirmed that the launch of the all-new SUV is still some time away and that the second-generation SUV will be launched a few months after the first-generation model is phased out.
Jeneba told CarandBike that the launch of the new Kodiaq could take three to six months once the first-generation model is sold out, but he also said that the company could consider pushing the launch of the second-generation SUV, which will continue to be locally assembled at the company’s plant in Maharashtra. To boost sales of the current-generation model, the carmaker has extended a week-long ‘7 per cent benefit’ scheme, offering a scheduled maintenance package along with an extended warranty of (4 + 1 years) at a discounted price of Rs 67,965.
[The timing of the launch] depends on how successful we are in the seven days [of the plan]. If we can sell 600 cars in that period, as we have sold 150 cars in a single day before, then we can move it very fast. If we finish [the first generation stock] by October, then we can work on trying to launch,” Janeba told CarandBike.
The Kodiaq, in its second generation too, will be launched as a petrol-only offering, with Janeba confirming that the SUV will continue to be powered by the 2.0-litre, EA888 four-cylinder turbo-petrol engine that makes 188 bhp and 320 Nm of torque and is likely to be paired to a DSG automatic as before.
Based on the Volkswagen Group’s MQB EVO platform, the new Kodiaq is 61mm longer than its predecessor (4,758mm), but other dimensions remain unchanged, and it also has a nearly identical wheelbase (2,791mm). It comes on Skoda’s new ‘Modern Solid’ design vision, showcased by the 2022 Vision 7S concept, and has a slightly more rounded and softer look.
Skoda claims that the new 3-row SUV has more headroom for passengers in the last row, and even with all three rows filled, the new Kodiaq will have 340 litres of luggage space, 70 litres more than before.
When the new Kodiaq arrives in India next year, expect prices to comfortably cross Rs 40 lakh, with the most expensive model likely to be available at up to Rs 50 lakh (all prices, ex-showroom).