It is no secret that Skoda Auto Volkswagen Pvt Ltd. is working on the new mid size sedans based on MQB A0-IN platform under India 2.0 Project.Under this Project Volkswagen group will launch 2 sedans in India at the end of 2021. One sedan will be the successor of Volkswagen Vento while the other one is the successor of Skoda Rapid.
The Volkswagen Virtus has recently been spotted on the Indian Roads which give some clues on what to expect from VW’s India-specific Vento’s successor.Not only this but we also came to know that Skoda is also planning to replace the current Rapid with a newly developed sedan and that too with a new name.
According to Ministry of Commerce and Industry’s Patent Design and Trademarks website, Skoda Auto India has trademarked a new name known as Slavia. The company is likely to have registered the trademark for the new-gen Rapid that is scheduled to arrive at the end of 2021.
What is the story behind the name “Slavia” ?
Slavia was the name of the first motorized bicycle that was manufactured by the company’s founders Václav Laurin and Václav Klement in 1899.
SLAVIA comes from the Slavic name Slavia. This name is used for several well-known sports clubs in the Czech Republic, for example for the newly crowned Czech football champions Slavia Prague. Its captain, Jan Bořil, graduated from the ŠKODA vocational school .
In July 2020, the company also revealed the 7th Skoda Student Concept Car, a 2-door open-top roadster, which was also named Skoda Slavia.It was designed by 31 students attending the renowned Skoda vocational school.The concept car was based on the Skoda Scala,which is a SpaceBack version of Skoda rapid in European Markets.
Not only this but Skoda India has also trademarked 5 names in India. These include Konarq, Kosmiq, Kliq, Karmiq and Kushaq. Out of which the Skoda Vision IN concept that was showcased at Auto Expo 2020 is likely to be called as Kushaq.
The next-gen Skoda Rapid was showcased in Russia last year. It is based on the MQB A0 platform Under the hood, the model is likely to continue with the same 1.0-litre, three-cylinder TSI petrol motor, although it could be tuned to produce 114bhp and 200Nm.
