India key to Skoda's exports strategy, says country CEO

The company is looking to use its hub in Pune to export cars to South-east Asian countries

- Alisha Sachdev

India will play an important role in Czech carmaker Skoda Auto’s ambition to expand into South-east Asian markets, as the European automotive group Skoda Auto Volkswagen India (SAVW), which operates five major automobile brands in the country—Skoda, Volkswagen, Audi, Lamborghini, and Porsche—looks to tap into India as a major source of and enabler for exports into other South-east Asian economies, a top company official said.

Skoda Auto will supply completely knocked down (CKD) kits to Vietnam, for local assembly of cars such as Kushaq and Slavia, from a new logistics hub in Pune. Already, the company exports 30% of its entire production overseas, Piyush Arora, managing director & chief executive officer, SAVW India Ltd, told reporters. In 2023, of nearly 150,000 cars that the group manufactured here, over 42,000 units were exported.

Additionally, India could serve as a source market for exports into geographies which are "behind" in their electrification journey, according to Ashish Gupta, Brand Director, Volkswagen India.

"There’s a lot of interest from markets like South America and Africa in markets such as ours (in India), where cars from India have very high acceptability now. Many neighbouring markets like Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Bhutan, too, want to import our cars," Gupta said.