14.5.2019 Mladá Boleslav. The 85. Anniversary of the long-distance journey of four ŠKODA POPULAR from Prague to Kolkata is reminiscent of the impressive Tradition of ŠKODA in India. Quickly, the country became the seventh largest export market of the car manufacturer from Mladá Boleslav.
In 2001, ŠKODA became the second European manufacturer locally to the Indian market and could strengthen its Position in India ever since. Since 2018, the company is responsible for in the framework of the project INDIA has a 2.0 leader, the model offensive of the Volkswagen group on the Indian market.
In 1925, the engineering took over and the armor group’s ŠKODA car manufacturer Laurin & Klement from the Czech town of Mladá Boleslav. The Pilsner, the company was already at that time already active in India, and so the high-quality commercial set and passenger cars with the winged arrow quickly on the streets of the subcontinent. Long-distance journeys, which were undertaken, especially in the 1930s, were at the time of the most successful types of advertising.
And so what is launched on Saturday, the 12. In may 1934, 85 years ago, a group of four ŠKODA POPULAR of the Prague auto club a trip to India. The semi-convertibles had a one-liter, four-cylinder engines with a power of 15 kW (20 HP). The weight of the new entry-level model of ŠKODA came in at 700 kilograms, were added to 800 kg of payload, including occupants.
Under the direction of Zbislav Peters, a lawyer and the Czechoslovakian ice hockey national team player, the seven participants of the Expedition on the way through the Balkans, Turkey, Syria today and Iraq to India. A vehicle drove even a detour through Afghanistan. Upon arrival in Kolkata, the ŠKODA drove POPULAR to Mumbai, from there it went by ship to Trieste.
From the North Italian port city drove the cars back to Prague and had at the time of their arrival at the 10. September 1934, almost 15,000 kilometres, often in rough terrain and under harsh climatic conditions. On this remote journey the new Generation of ŠKODA, presented the vehicles to their enormous quality and reliability, as well an impressive demonstration of how the high technical level of the vehicles had a Central tube frame and independent suspension all around.
In the summer of 1936, the Czechs Břetislav Jan Procházka and Jindřich drove Kubias within 97 days around the world. In the process, they relied on a slightly modified open-top Version of the ŠKODA RAPID, with a power of 23 kW (31 HP) and powerful hydraulic brakes. The trip took the vehicle by India. Since the ship to Japan, took off early on, resembled the section of track Quetta–New Delhi–Mumbai a tracking travel: Within only three days of fast and reliable RAPID travelled this route.
Not least thanks to the promotional effects by the mentioned expeditions, the number of ŠKODA vehicles, which were exported to the then British India amounted in the second half of the 1930s in the case of 90 units in the year. Thus, India was in the year 1938 on the seventh place in the at that time already 39 export markets of the Czech automobile manufacturer.
In the face of global social and economic change after the second world war, between 1947 and 1955 were exported to a total of only 150 ŠKODA vehicles to India, then the so-called Ad-hoc deliveries in the 1950s to the 1970s is not followed, a permanent representation there. Another successful Chapter in the history of ŠKODA in India began in 2001, when the company from Mladá Boleslav the ŠKODA OCTAVIA-entry as the second European automobile manufacturers locally in the Indian market. After the introduction of the flagship ŠKODA SUPERB, in 2004, the models LAURA, (2006), FABIA (2008), YETI (2010) and RAPID (2011) followed. Currently, the Indian customers can choose from a series of four model: The RAPID is produced in the local plant in Pune, the OCTAVIA, the SUPERB and the KODIAQ be produced in the Aurangabad plant.
In the past 18 years, ŠKODA has strengthened its Position in the Indian market continuously, both in the number of delivered vehicles, as well as in the perception of the Indian customers. The potential of the Indian market is immense: With currently more than 1.3 billion inhabitants, the country has the second highest population in the world, and the gross domestic product is growing annually by around seven percent.
Thus, the Indian market is an important pillar of the strategy of ŠKODA AUTO. In the framework of the project INDIA 2.0 manufacturer is responsible for the car since 2018 to lead the model offensive of the Volkswagen group on the Indian market. In January 2019, the technology centre was opened in Pune.
The vehicles, which will be developed in the new technology center, are tailored to the requirements of the customers on the subcontinent and are produced to 95 per cent locally on the Basis of the deep localized MQB-A0 platform. That is to say, almost all of the vehicle components are made in India‘. The first design study, the car manufacturer is already in the next year at the motor show in Delhi. In the next phase of the project, the Volkswagen group wants to examine the possibilities to export the India-made vehicles.
ŠKODA in India – of the long-distance travel in the pre-war time for local production: Since 2001, succeeds in ŠKODA AUTO to consolidate its Position in the Indian market and to create awareness for cars of the Czech brand. The local production is in the works in Pune and Aurangabad.
(Photo: ŠKODA)
