Skoda Auto India will soon introduce a Monte Carlo edition of its compact sedan, the Slavia. In a recent interaction with car&bike, Petr Šolc, Director – Sales & Marketing, Skoda Auto India said that the company wants its top-selling models Slavia and Kushaq to be well-established in the Indian market. And Skoda feels that one way to ensure that would be by introducing special edition models. While it has already launched the Kushaq Monte Carlo and the first-anniversary edition of the compact SUV, next the carmaker plans to introduce the Slavia Monte Carlo in India.
Talking about the need for expanding the model line-up Šolc said, “We are going step by step. Of course, we are happy that we have introduced the Monte Carlo version of the Kushaq and we are looking if would it make sense perhaps for us to bring more of the special editions. Like a Monte Carlo on the Kushaq, but also on the Slavia. This is definitely also our ultimate goal to ensure that both these products are well established in the market.”
The Skoda Slavia compact sedan, along with the Kushaq, has played a major role in the huge turnaround that the brand has witnessed in India. The compact sedan already accounts for average monthly sales of around 2000 units and the introduction of a top-of-the-line Monte Carlo trim is only going to add to the car’s volumes.
Skoda’s Monte Carlo edition cars are designed to pay homage to the brand’s racing pedigree. Like the other Monte Carlo models, which we have seen in the Indian market so far, the Skoda Slavia Monte Carlo will also come in a special red exterior paint job with blacked-out accents. The car is also expected to get all-black wheels with red calipers, a blacked-out roof and the Monte Carlo badge. The cabin too will get an all-black treatment with red accents and possibly some add-on features like a bigger 10.1-inch touchscreen infotainment system.
We expect the Monte Carlo edition to be based on the top-end Style variant of the car, and it will be offered with both the manual and automatic variants of the 1.0-litre TSI and the 1.5-litre TSI engine option. Expect at least a premium of Rs. 30,000 to Rs. 50,000 over the asking price of the Style variants of the Slavia for the Monte Carlo trims.