Skoda Slavia has lost crucial features which once offered customers a compelling buy, Price to be hiked by Rs. 50,000/-
The recently launched Skoda Slavia got rave reviews not only for its performance oriented powertrain, the TSI-DSG combo, but also for its excellent list of features. But, the Czech maker has now deleted some very important features from the sedan.
For starters, the Slavia is now the highest-selling C-segment sedan in the country. Last month, the new Skoda sold 200 units more than the previous best-seller, Honda City, whose sales dwindled with double-digit de-growth.
Slavia achieved this feat despite many of its variants being much costlier than the City’s respective counterparts. The new Skoda doesn’t have a diesel variant unlike the City.
As far as petrols are concerned, there’s a price difference of up to a humongous Rs. 2.75 lakhs between the top-end models of the 2 cars. This should pretty much tell you how much popular the Slavia is currently.
But, right amid this popularity, Skoda has cut essential features on the sedan. The Slavia has reportedly lost its amazing 10-inch infotainment system. In its place, Skoda seems to plonked in an 8-inch unit from Panasonic. Even the wireless charging facility has been taken away.
The sad part is that, even the customers who booked the car in April, have been forced to accept these changes by the respective dealerships.
The sedan will reportedly get a price hike up to Rs. 50,000/- from 1st June. It must be seen how potential buyers and those have already booked the car react to these deletions and the price hike.
Skoda Auto India Brand Director Zac Hollis has released an official statement.
It reads, “In light of the continued semi-conductor shortage, we have made some minor updates to the equipment in our India 2.0 cars with effect from 1st June onwards, so that our customers face no undue delays in taking delivery of their Skoda.”
It further added, “Customers will be appraised of the feature updates by their dealers. We at Skoda Auto India thank you for choosing a Skoda and for standing by us in these times of supply shortages. Irrespective of the global situation, we shall always endeavor to provide the best buying and ownership experience with a Skoda.”
This isn’t the first time Skoda is abruptly deleting features. Earlier this year, the brand silently removed the auto-fold feature of the ORVMs of its Kushaq mid Ambition and, then top-end, Style variants citing global chip shortage.
Later, as a face-saver, the brand offered a discount of Rs. 15,000/- to make up for the feature deletion.
It must be noted that, just a few days back, Honda too deleted some essential features from the City. The base V variant no longer gets front and rear mudguards as standard fitment.
The interior door handles, which used to be adorned with chrome, now are just plastic units for all variants of the City. The 16-inch dual-tone alloy spare wheel has been replaced with a regular 15-inch steel unit.