While demand for hatchbacks continue to increase, the Skoda Fabia has recorded very poor sales in the past few months. The issue with the Fabia are quite a few, such as low equipment and high prices. The competition is tough and the Fabia is losing sales to its distant cousin, the Volkswagen Polo. Now Skoda has quietly discontinued the base variants of the Fabia. The company has also discontinued the Fabia 1.6. Just recently Volkswagen discontinued the Polo 1.6 as demand for a performance petrol hatchback remains low in India.
Skoda has stopped production of the base Active and Active Plus variants. The Ambition variant (mid-level) too has been discontinued. These variants had very little demand and most buyers prefer the Ambition Plus variant as it has more features. Thus the Skoda Fabia will be available in only two variants (with petrol and diesel engines). This will make it easier for Skoda to handle inventory and will also reduce cost of production for the company.
New Skoda Fabia Line Up
* 1.2 MPi Ambition Plus
* 1.2 MPi Elegance
* 1.2 MPi Scout
* 1.2 TDi Ambition Plus
* 1.2 TDi Elegance
* 1.2 TDi Scout
Skoda is said to be working on increasing localization on the Fabia hatchback. This will help them to correct prices and increase sales of their cheapest car in India. The new Fabia is expected to be launched in 2014.
Source – Nishant on MotorBeam Forums
