Skoda changes strategy and brings diesel back to India

According to Autocar India, the Czech automaker intends to resume sales of diesel cars in the Indian market after a break of almost five years. The Superb will be the first to receive a diesel engine: it will be an all-wheel drive modification of the model, equipped with a 2.0-liter unit producing 193 horsepower. Following the Superb, a diesel version of the Kodiaq crossover is also expected in India.

The publication quotes the head of the Indian division of Skoda, Peter Janeba: during the Bharat Mobility Global Expo (Auto Expo-2025) exhibition, he spoke about the change of course and intention to develop a line of diesel cars. When Skoda was just entering the Indian market, the share of diesel cars in total sales reached 80 percent – the first generation Octavia, Superb and Rapid had such versions.

Five years ago, the automaker abandoned diesels in India, but now intends to bring them back because competitors Hyundai, Kia, Tata and Mahindra have diesels in their lineup and are in demand.

The new generation Skoda Superb liftback has become a rechargeable hybrid. A new locally assembled Skoda crossover has begun to be sold in Kazakhstan. Skoda has introduced an updated family of Enyaq electric crossovers.

At Auto Expo 2025, Skoda brought the new Superb 4×4. Under the hood of this Superb is a 2.0-liter diesel engine that develops 193 horsepower and 400 Nm of torque, and the 4×4 in the name indicates all-wheel drive. The new product is expected to go on sale until the end of 2025. In addition to the diesel modification, there will also be a version with a 2.0 petrol turbo engine producing 204 horsepower, and the “charged” Superb RS will receive a 265-horsepower engine.

In India, the Skoda Superb will compete with the Toyota Camry, while the Octavia RS will be a niche product that does not yet have a direct competitor.

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