It seems that the stage is all set for the cheap cars in India. After Nano, Volkswagen group company Skoda is lining up a cheap car aimed at the masses in the country.

The Czech carmaker is planning to expand its product portfolio and will introduce its small car by the year 2011.

The car is believed to carry the price-tagged around Rs. 3 lakh. The small car from Skoda will be available in both petrol and diesel variants.
According to the company sources, the Czech carmaker would prefer to manufacture the car at its existing Aurangabad unit.

However, the company officials did not divulge details about the other specifications, including the size of the car. It is still not clear if the proposed car will be pitched against Maruti Suzuki’s Alto, Wagon R and Hyundai’s Santro in the compact car segment.

It is believed that the company is planning to come up with small cars in India to benefit from the lower excise duty regime and enter the market for small cars. So far, the Czech carmaker had resisted to enter the world of small car mart and had preferred to continue hawking its sleek and stylish Octavia, Superb and Laura but is now working on an altogether new platform for its proposed small car project that will be separate from the existing small car platform of parent Volkswagen.

In India, the company has nearly 25 per cent market share in the C+ segment of cars.

Experts do believe that India will be among the top three global markets for Skoda in the next five years. Of the 100,000 units the company planned to sell, over 60 per cent would comprise small cars.

Till now, Fabia is the smallest offering from the Skoda platform. The car has received a great response in the Indian auto industry.