- Skoda is planning to replace the current Rapid with a newly developed sedan and that too with a new name.
- They have trademarked a new name “Slavia”
- Skoda could replace the ‘Rapid’ nameplate with ‘Slavia’.
Few months ago , We published an article in which we had mentioned that Skoda Auto Volkswagen Pvt Ltd. is working on 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. But at this moment we all are aware of the ongoing second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in India which may peak between May 11-15 with 33-35 lakh total ‘active” cases by the end of May,2021. Due to which Skoda has delayed the launch of the new-products including Octavia and Next Gen Rapid. So we can expect it’s launch in the starting of 2022.
But the good news is that Skoda Rapid’s successor has been spied testing in India by Autocar India. From the spy shots one can clearly notice that this will be a bigger car.
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.
Moreover it’s cousin and rival , 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.
The Slavia will be powered by a 1.0-L TSI turbocharged petrol engine that makes 108bhp/175Nm, mated to a 6-speed manual or a 6-speed automatic transmission.
Apart from that, It will also get a 1.5-litre turbo-petrol motor that can churn out 148 bhp/250Nm with a 7-speed DSG (dual-clutch transmission).
The new sedan will also get some new features like ventilated leather front seats, 10-inch touchscreen infotainment system compatible with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, touchscreen Climatronic automatic climate control, wireless charger, auto-dimming IRVM, ambient lighting, six airbags, traction control and ESP etc.
The next gen Rapid will compete with the likes of upcoming Volkswagen Virtus , Honda City and Hyundai Verna.