In the flourishing sub-4 meter compact sedan segment, Skoda and Fiat are preparing to launch their cars as this segment is burgeoning segment and most of the companies are fighting for it including Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai and Mahindra. In India car under the length of four meters are eligible for the 12 percent excise duty while above the four meter length they are levied over twice that figure.

Skoda and FiatAccording to the Economic Times the different products of Skoda including sub-4 meter sedan were being under consideration for Indian market as per confirmed by the Pawel Szuflak, Skoda India’s marketing and sales director. Skoda India recently launched the Superb facelift and later in the year planning to launch the refreshed Yeti. Company currently holds Superb, Yeti and Octavia in the premium segment and in the entry-level segment only has the Rapid sedan.

Fiat is almost done with its facelifted Punto which is re–engineered. The Punto wasn’t at the Auto Expo but it could be launched till the end of this year. The test mule of Fiat Punto spotted on the road. The most noticeable modifications compared to the previous Punto is the change in the colour of front bumper which is in the car’s body colour. The bumper is slightly different from the international version with the fog -lamps to its conventional position.

The interior look is also changed, this time the interior looks much smarter with the use of new colours, trims and fabrics on the seat and on the dashboard. The engine seems to be remain unchanged for both the versions (petrol and diesel). A petrol engine is in 1.2 liter and 1.4 liter displacements, alongside the 1.3-liter diesel engine with 75PS and 90PS variations.

In entry-level segment Skoda has only ‘Rapid’ sedan for Indian market and according to the higher officials, ‘Citigo’ which is entry-level segment car for the European market is not suitable for Indian market as it is way expensive according to the Indian taste. The only other way to flourish this segment for the company is Polo’s PQ25 platform that Skoda has borrowed to produce the Rapid. The new sedan would be specifically for Indian market and manufacturing would be done in brand’s Aurangabad facility in Maharashtra.

As there is no official confirmation about the specification and features of the car but we still expect that the car should have vocabulary design similar to new Octavia and European Rapid. Vocabulary design means silhouette, an upswept dynamic window line on to rear doors and a distinctive C-shaped lighting contour would find a spot in the car.