Skoda aims to sell 6000-8000 Yetis in 2011

Czech carmaker Skoda Auto India, that has aggressively positioned its new sports utility vehicle(SUV) Yeti between the indigenous and the pemium SUVs available in the market, expects to sell at least 6,000-8,000 units in 2011.

The Yeti launched today in Ahmedabad, and yesterday in Delhi, has already attracted over 1000 bookings. "We have priced the Yeti attractively at Rs 15.6 lakh, and there are not many offerings of a similar category in the Indian market now", claimed Ashutosh Dixit, senior general manager, sales and marketing, Skoda Auto India, highlighting the superior quality aspects of the car.

This season has seen a slew of SUV launches, with Hyundai launching the Santa Fe and Tata Motors driving in with its crossover SUV Aria. The market is now very competitive with the Santa Fe coming at around Rs 20 lakh and the Aria priced around Rs 16 lakh. Thanks to its aggressive pricing, Skoda hopes to sell around 500-600 Yetis per month. Skoda has already managed to sell 16,200 vehicles in 2010, compared to 14,500 units in entire 2009. Dixit said that the company aimed to end the year with 20,000 units. Skoda India follows a calendar year fiscal.

Talking about the Gujarat market, Dixit informed that Skoda is coming up with two new dealerships in Gandhidham and Anand. "The Gandhidham dealership may start before year-end. We already have five dealerships across the state, at Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Rajkot, Surat and Vapi", Dixit said.Currently, Gujarat accounts for nearly 10 per cent of Skoda's all-India sales. Of this, its compact car Fabia accounts for around 50 per cent of net sales in Gujarat, while the rest comes from its sedans Laura and Superb.