Saar: The first product, based on Volkswagen’s MQB-A0-IN platform, will launch in 2020.

Just to make things clear from the get-go – the core Volkswagen brand is not going anywhere. It will still make products in India, for India, and hopefully, bring more exciting ones from overseas. So, you can take a deep sigh of relief. What this new development means is that Skoda Auto India will take charge to develop Volkswagen Group’s future cars for India.

Before we dive deeper into this new development, let’s take a quick leap into the history books on how this came about. About a year and a half ago, Skoda Auto India was given a project by Volkswagen Group to develop a sustainable model campaign for the Skoda and Volkswagen brands in the Indian mass-market segments. That project has been given a green signal by the board of management and supervisory board of Volkswagen Group. In other words, Volkswagen will take a back seat and Skoda will lead the way in developing India-specific products.

The company has confirmed that under the ‘India 2.0’ project, all future models designed and produced locally will be based on Volkswagen Group’s MQB platform. Reason? It is already compliant to the stricter legal requirements for India that will be enforced in the year 2020. Additionally, Skoda Auto will also take charge to build products on the sub-compact MQB-A0 platform, with the initial focus on India (MQB-A0-IN). Speaking of which, the Indian arm of the Czech carmaker has also confirmed that the first model, which will be underpinned by the sub-compact MQB-A0-IN platform, will be launched in 2020.

What kind of product will that be? The logical guess would be a compact SUV, specifically to take on the mighty Hyundai Creta. Volkswagen will also use the same platform to launch its own version of a compact SUV, albeit with tweaked styling and slightly different interiors. But it will be Skoda’s product that will launch in India first. Could it be a trimmed-down derivative of the Skoda Karoq? Or will Skoda take its inspiration from the Vision X concept that was showcased in Geneva earlier this year? Only time will tell.