Skoda Auto has announced that at next year’s Auto Expo, it will unveil the prototype of its first product under India 2.0 project. It is destined to be a compact SUV which will rival the likes of Hyundai Creta and the upcoming Kia SP Concept (Tusker). In all probability, Skoda’s prototype heading to New Delhi next year will resemble the Vision X concept from Geneva International Motor Show (GIMS) 2018.

At this year’s GIMS, Skoda unveiled the production version of the Vision X concept. Tagged as the Kamiq, it will sit under the Karoq in Skoda’s global SUV hierarchy. That means the Kamiq will also form the basis of Skoda Auto India’s upcoming compact SUV. The latter will be underpinned by Volkswagen Group’s MQB A0-IN platform, one that has been developed particularly for emerging markets such as India. The former, on the other hand, has the global MQB A0 as its skeleton.

Under India 2.0 project, both Skoda and Volkswagen will use the MQB A0-IN platform in their products. After Skoda introduces the compact SUV, Volkswagen will take the same recipe, rebadge, restyle and repackage it to launch its own SUV in the same segment. In all likelihood, Skoda will name its creation as the Kamiq, whereas Volkswagen will rechristen it as the T-Cross.

Needless to say, both products will be BSVI-compliant when they launch. Powering both will be a 1.0-litre TSI engine which will also be locally produced. In international markets, it is available in different states of tune. It will be interesting to see which out of the four states, which ranges from 85PS/175Nm to 115PS/200Nm, will Volkswagen Group India settle on. It is tough to say whether a diesel engine will be offered. However, the choice of manual and automatic transmissions will surely make the cut.

By 2021, Volkswagen Group India will have invested 1 billion euros for the India 2.0 project. Apart from introducing new, more competitively priced products on our shores, it will also study the possibility to ship some of them to other developing markets around the globe. To strengthen its roots in India, the automotive group will widen its dealership network and introduce enticing aftersales programmes to meet its target of a 5 per cent market share by 2025.