It has been almost ten years since Skoda entered the Indian market in 2001 with its Octavia 1.9 TDI. This car established the reputation of Skoda as a premium car maker. Despite having very few dealers and authorized service showrooms, Skoda Octavia instantly hit a chord with the Indian crowd. And after so many years, the phasing out the Octavia due to the emission norms has left a gap not only in the car maker’s portfolio but in the hearts of the Indians too.

Skoda India is trying its best to bring the Octavia replacement as soon as it can. Speculations say that the company will soon bring a sedan based on its Fabia hatchback. But, of late, another dimension has been added to the story.

Apparently, the Skoda Octavia replacement will share quite a few commonalities with the Volkswagen Vento, right from engine to transmission. Volkswagen recently unveiled the Polo-based sedan in the Indian market.

Now we are all aware that Skoda is a Volkswagen subsidiary and the former has been sourcing quite a few components from the parent company. Skoda Laura and Superb share plenty of similarities with Volkswagen cars ranging from DSG gearboxes to Volkswagen TSI engines.

Well, sharing is caring and all that jazz is fine. What we do not understand is that Skoda has decided to launch the Octavia replacement in the Indian market with a price tag of around Rs 8-9 Lakh. You would say that that’s the price of VW Vento too. Exactly our thoughts. In placing Octavia replacement in that price category, Skoda would be having a head on with the VW Vento.

This does not strike as a smart idea – the two group companies fighting for market share in a particular segment with similar products. But then, haven’t we all witnessed stranger things happening in auto world. Guess it would be fun to watch Skoda unleash its value pricing and fight it out with Volkswagen.