In the past few years, the Indian car market has seen a number of new trends. A more recent one that is becoming increasingly popular with the car makers is adding a boot to a hatchback and creating a sedan out of it. Just look at the sales charts of Maruti Suzuki Swift DZire and Tata Indigo, which are both sedan versions of popular hatchbacks, you would know that they are big deals.

Yes, the leaders started the trend and many have already charted out their plans of following in their footsteps. Volkswagen has already started the production of its Polo based sedan, Vento. And after the successful launch of Micra, Nissan is counting days to launch the sedan version of the small car. Toyota, which will try its and at the small car business in India with the Etios hatchback, will simultaneously bring the Etios sedan too. In fact, rumour has it that the City-Jazz and Aveo twins, though they look a bit different, are based on the same underpinnings.

Meanwhile, Skoda is up for a similar upgrade too. The phasing out of Octavia has cost a lot to the car maker, and Skoda cannot keep quiet about it any longer. The company plans to fill the gap with the launch of Fabia sedan, which is likely to be named Felicia.

When Skoda launched the Fabia as India’s super hatch, it did so with grand Indi-flavoured advertisements. Over the years, Fabia has built a good name for itself and the Czech company would definitely want to capitalise on that with the Felicia.

Integrating a boot in a design that is dominantly hatchback is a difficult task. Many a times the resulting looks of the car are disappointing. Well, the Skoda Felicia is not going to be a looker either, but the great sales numbers of Swift DZire is enough to prove that practicality rules over looks in the Indian market.

The engine options for the sedan would probably remain unchanged from the hatch, which means that the diesel powerplant will most likely make its way to the top of the engine variants list. Expect to see the return of the 1.4 litre petrol engine that was earlier available with the Fabia when it was first launched. The new boot on Fabia sedan will extend the wheelbase by a few inches and introduce plenty of usable storage space.

As with most of the new cars launched in India, competitive pricing would be a major challenge if Skoda wants to cut into the sales of Maruti Swift Dzire. But then, there are some in-house rivalries too. Skoda will have to fight with Volkswagen Vento for survival in the Indian market. Skoda will also have to do something on a grand scale about its after sales services. The Skoda Fabia sedan is expected to be launched towards the end of 2011.