Skoda India aims to catch them young.

The majority of our customers are below 35 years of age,

Thomas Kuehl, member of the board, sales and marketing, Skoda Auto India, told Financial Chronicle’s Rupesh Janve in an interview at the auto expo here on Thursday. Excrepts from the

interview:

It is the 10th year of Skoda Auto’s presence in India. How does the India business outlook look like in the next 2-3 years?

India is at the 11th position in terms of sales among all the countries, where Skoda is present. But with sales of our products picking up in the domestic market, we expect it to achieve fifth position in the coming years.

What is the strategy to achieve that position; what rate do you expect sales to grow?

The company has recorded around three per cent growth in sales during April-December 2009 period to 10,879 units as compared to same period last year. Our target is to achieve atleast double- digit growth for couple of years and we hope that our premium hatchback car – Fabia will be the key driver in that aim. We expect that the market share of Fabia in that segment to grow from around 12 per cent at present to 18 per cent by the end of 2010.

How do you plan to achieve your target?

Skoda customers are the youngest customers, who are willing to spend over Rs 10 lakh on our cars. The majority of them are below 35 years. So our focus would be to attract them. We will be marketing our products not as value for money, but money for value, considering the style, power and fuel efficiency of Skoda cars. We will be increasing dealerships to 75 from 65 at present by end of 2010. It is the third year for Fabia, so now we are planning to refurbish the car by changing the engine compatible to Bharat Stage IV emission norms coming into effect from April 2010, styling and fuel efficiency. Acceptance for Superb has also added to our sales, which we wish to continue, this year.

Which are the other models Skoda Auto plans to launch in India?

We will be launching a refreshed version of Fabia this year and then we will see how the market reacts. We also have plans to launch Combi version of Skoda Superb, Octavia Scout version, Laura S and we will see if the Fabia Greenline version is ready, the company may launch in the domestic market. We will unveil a brand new car in the C-segment that is likely to be a successor of the Octavia in 2011.

All Skoda cars are imported as complete knockdown unit. In that case, are there any plans to source some of the components from India, thereby increasing localisation content and reduction in cost?

Yes we import all our cars as CKD. There is around 10 per cent localisation of components in models including Fabia and Octavia. Our focus is to get around 50 per cent localisation by end of this calendar year.

What are Yeti plans in India?

Yeti is the first SUV from Skoda family of cars. It is one of the most awaited and much talked about cars, which is sure to create a whole new segment in the Indian auto market. It has been very successful globally and we would like to repeat the success in India. India would see a lot of launches in 2010, but Yeti is the only car in the compact SUV segment, this segment hasn’t been extensively explored in India as yet. Pricing and engine specifications are other factors that will make the Yeti stand out in the SUV space.

Is Skoda looking to export Yeti?

We have no plans to develop India as an export hub as yet. For us, India is a booming market and we are concentrating on our strategies for this region with our local partners and suppliers.

What is the impact of increase in raw material prices on the company?

The rising input cost has certainly put some pressure on us. Price increase in the range of 1-2 per cent is under consideration. We may make an announcement soon.