by Suman Gupta
- Six airbags as standard across the range for both the Kushaq and Slavia
- Provides further impetus to already strong safety credentials
- Škoda Auto India has always offered a fully safe, 5-star rated, crash-tested fleet
- New updates ensures six airbags are available from the base variants
- Stays on product action path after segment-first electric seats introduced late last year
- Follows introduction of Superb and announcement of all-new compact SUV
Mumbai, 2024 – After setting safety benchmarks with the Kushaq SUV in October 2022 and the Slavia sedan in April 2023, Škoda Auto India continues blazing the safety trail with the introduction of six airbags as standard across all variants of the Kushaq and Slavia. The introduction is part of the company’s MY24 updates for its landmark made-for-India, ready-for-the-world India 2.0 product portfolio.
Speaking on the upgrades, Petr Janeba, Brand Director, Škoda Auto India, said: “Safety has always been intrinsic to the Škoda DNA. We were the first brand to score a full 5-stars for adults and children under the Global NCAP tests. Our emphasis on safety embodies our Human Touch approach, and underscores our focus on being a family brand. We always offered frontal airbags in our base variants and six in our higher variants, each as safe as the other. As part of our MY24 updates we now offer six airbags across all variants of the Kushaq and Slavia. We are always listening to our customers and shall continue to provide relevant upgrades and significant product actions within our product portfolio and our variant line-up.”
MY24 star additions
Škoda Auto India, in a significant move, have now introduced six airbags as standard across the line-up of both the Kushaq and Slavia. The Kushaq starts with the Active variant, going upto the Ambition, topping at the Style with variants like the Monte Carlo and the Elegance Edition forming the upper rung of the variant mix of the SUV. The Slavia also begins with the Active, progressing to the Ambition and the Style with the Style Edition and Elegance Edition at the top ensuring immense value for customers across the spectrum. Both cars continue with the proven, powerful and efficient 1.0 TSI and 1.5 TSI engine options with a choice of a six-speed manual, six-speed automatic and seven-speed DSG for transmission duties.
Continuous updates
The enhancements to the Kushaq’s and Slavia’s MY24 range are a further addition to updates already introduced by the company in Q4 2023. It is when the top-of-the-line variants in both cars saw the introduction of all-new features like electric seats for the driver and co-driver, which is a segment-first, and an illuminated footwell area. The centre of the dash saw the familiar 25.4 cm infotainment screen with Škoda Play Apps. The system links wirelessly with Apple Carplay and Android Auto. While this full-fledged infotainment system was available in the Style and above, recent updates have seen the company introduce them even in the mid-level Ambition trims furthering the value proposition for customers.
These upgrades further Škoda Auto India’s 2024 product actions with the announcement of the all-new compact SUV to make its world debut in India in 2025 and the re-introduction of the Superb in limited numbers to meet continued demand for the luxury sedan among fans and customers.
Made in India, for the world
The Kushaq, introduced in July 2021, and the Slavia, introduced in March 2022, are based on the made-for-India, ready-for-the-world MQB-A0-IN platform and are being exported to other right-hand drive and GCC countries. They had both earned a full 5-stars in the Global New Car Assessment Programme (Global NCAP) for adults and children – the Kushaq in October 2022 and the Slavia in April 2023. The MQB-A0-IN was the first made-in-India platform to have achieved dual 5-stars, that too under Global NCAP’s newer and more stringent test protocols.
The latest introduction of six airbags as standard across the range furthers the safety quotient in the proven and tested India 2.0 cars. With the full 5-stars under Global NCAP for the Kushaq and Slavia, and the same score under Euro NCAP for the Kodiaq 4×4, and the recently introduced Superb luxury sedan, Škoda Auto India continues with its tradition of offering a 100% fleet of crash-tested cars rated 5-stars for adults and children in the Indian market.
