Skoda Auto India had set a target of having 225 customer touch points across India. He announced today that he has achieved this target before the end of the year.
Development of Skoda
To put things in perspective, there were only 120 touch points in India in the year 2020. Skoda has seen steady growth since the launch of the India 2.0 initiative and beyond. In the year 2021, the number of touch points increased to 175. This year, Skoda added 50 more touch points. These customer touch points include fully digitized showrooms, dealerships, sales branches, service centers and compact workshops.
Now, growth is not just limited to touch points but also sales. In the year 2022, Skoda Auto India achieved its highest sales figures of over 50,000 units and counting. The number of sales has doubled compared to last year. Also, for Skoda, India is now the third largest market in terms of customer base.
Skoda success
Much of the credit for Skoda’s success goes to the India 2.0 initiative. As per the initiative, Skoda has developed an exclusive platform for the cars in India. The MQB-A0-IN platform was developed to cater to Indian customers. This platform is highly localized thus reducing the overall production cost. The success of Kshaq and Slavia proved that this platform is working in favor of Indian consumers and their needs. Skoda has also focused on expanding its physical presence across the country in the form of new dealerships, workshops etc. At a time when major foreign brands were closing shop, Skoda continued to build trust by establishing additional touch points.
Another big win for Skoda was the 5-star safety rating it got with the Skoda Kushaq. Now, 5 stars were awarded not only for adult passengers but also for child passengers. It was the first vehicle in India, making the Skoda Octavia one of the safest cars in the country. The other is of course its cousin the Volkswagen Taygun which is based on the same platform. The safety rating only increased the confidence of Indian consumers.