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Skoda Auto India will launch three new variants of its flagship model hatchback Fabia, including a new sports model this year, a top company executive said. The new sports car, Fabia Sportline, will have newly-designed interiors and alloy wheels.

The car will be powered with an 1800cc engine which caters to the sports vehicle segment where this particular segment is currently growing. The existing Fabia comes with 1200-1600cc engine capacity.

“We will launch multiple variants of the Fabia to leverage on its popularity. We will introduce Fabia Combi (estate version) and the tallboy Roomster models to consolidate the brand in the Indian market. We will also showcase the Fabia Rally car, though it will not be available for retail sale,” Skoda’s head (sales and marketing) Thomas Kuehl said.

Skoda, the maker of premium cars, is among the few auto makers where sales have increased in the domestic market when total sales have declined due to the financial meltdown. Its sales grew 22% to 11309 cars in the April-December period. Fabia is its largest selling brand and the company sold over 7,000 cars in 2008, the first year of its launch.

Currently, Fabia is manufactured at Skoda’s Aurangabad facility that will move to Volkswagen’s upcoming plant at Pune in Maharashtra in April-May. Skoda will also launch the next generation models of sedans Superb and Laura in the next few months.

“We have finalised plans to launch the next generation Superb in India and the new Laura will hit the market in the middle of 2009. We want to remain the segment leader in the Rs 10-25 Lakh bracket,” Mr Kuehl said.

The company will also venture into the sports utility vehicle (SUV) segment with the launch of its Yeti model in early 2010, expected to be priced around Rs.10 Lakhs. It will expand the dealership network to 60 this year. In a bid to augment spare part supplies from its European facilities, Skoda has set up a warehouse at Aurangabad at an investment of Rs 12 Crore.

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