Skoda Karoq (Jeep Compass rival) launch delayed due to coronavirus: New date revealed

India has gone under a complete lockdown to contain the spread of the coronavirus. Due to the 21 days lockdown, everything has come to a halt. Car manufacturers have delayed the launch of their new vehicles due to the pandemic too. Skoda, the Czech manufacturer was expected to launch the all-new Skoda Karoq to the Indian market in April. The manufacturer has already started accepting the official bookings for the upcoming vehicle.

Skoda will now officially launch the all-new Karoq on 6th May. The Karoq will take on the likes of Jeep Compass and Hyundai Tucson in the Indian market. It will be an all-new car and it will be imported as CBU (Completely Built Unit). Skoda started accepting the bookings for the car in March itself. The officially booking amount is Rs 50,000. The price announcement and deliveries will start on the same day – 6th May 2020.
The Skoda Karoq will be imported as a CBU and will be a low volume product. Since the government has allowed manufacturers to sell CBU vehicles under 2,500 units per year without any homologation, Skoda will keep the volumes limited in number. The all-new mid-size car will be available in the market in a single variant and will get a single powertrain option.
The Karoq is based on the MQB platform that underpins a lot of other cars from the Volkswagen group in India including the Octavia, Kodiaq, Tiguan and more. Skoda is currently working in the MQB-A0-IN platform that is the derivative of the MQB platform and will allow the VW group to launch new vehicles at a competitive price. This will be an India specific platform and will underpin a host of new cars in the market.

Skoda has always been known for offering advanced features and the Karoq will be no different. It will offer a massive panoramic sunroof, Virtual Cockpit digital instrument cluster, full-LED headlamps, 17-inch alloy wheels, 8.0-inch touchscreen infotainment system, dual-zone climate control system, 12-way electrically adjustable driver seat, ABS+EBD, Brake Assist, ESC and 9 airbags.
Initially, Skoda will offer only the 1.5-litre turbocharged petrol engine option with the Karoq that will develop a maximum power of 148 Bhp and peak torque of 250 Nm. It will get the 7-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission that will send the power to the front wheels. Skoda will not offer the 4X4 option in the Indian market initially but may bring in later at a later stage.
Since it will be a CBU vehicle, the prices are expected to be on the higher side. However, it will be a fully-loaded version of the car with all the features in place.