Skoda is working on a new sedan that has been codenamed ANB. The new sedan is expected to launch by the end of this year as per Zac Hollis, director of Sales, Service & Marketing for Skoda. However, because of the pandemic, the launch could be postponed to early next year. The sedan has now been caught on video being tested on Indian roads. The video has been uploaded by The Fat Biker on YouTube and it helps us get an idea about how the new sedan will look like on the Indian roads.

In the video, we can see that the sedan is fully camouflaged. It gets LED tail lamps and a shark-fin antenna. Up-front we can see Skoda’s butterfly grille and striking LED headlamp design with a projector setup. Skoda might also give the new sedan a notchback design which will help in increasing the boot space and practicality significantly. At the side profile, there will be new alloy wheels and turn indicators on the outside rearview mirrors.

In the video, the ANB sedan looks much bigger than the current Rapid and other competitors. This is due to the fact that Skoda is using the MQB-AO-IN platform for the sedan. This is the same platform that is being used on the Skoda Kushaq and Volkswagen Taigun. So, the sedan will also have a wheelbase of 2,611 mm making it the best in the segment. This will free up loads of cabin space and legroom for the occupants.

The MQB-AO-IN platform itself is a heavily localized version of the MQB-AO platform which Skoda and Volkswagen use for the cars sold in the international market. They will also focus on increasing the localisation level of the sedan also. So, there would be part sharing with the Kushaq. It would get the same engines, transmissions, underpinnings, platform etc. This would help in saving production costs and the new sedan would be able to price more competitively in the Indian market.

The sedan is expected to be 100 mm longer than the current Rapid. Also, in the video, we can see that it will have a huge boot. We are expecting it to have a capacity of more than 500-litres. Skoda might use the ‘Slavia’ name for the upcoming sedan as they have already filed the trademark for it.

The Skoda Slavia will be positioned above the Rapid. It is highly likely that the current Rapid still stays in production and competes with the lower sedans and the Slavia competes against the more premium sedans like Hyundai Verna and Honda 5th generation City. Because the Rapid has been on sale for such a long time, its price has fallen down quite a bit. The current price of Rapid starts at just Rs. 7.49 lakhs ex-showroom while the top-end variant costs Rs. 13.29 lakhs ex-showroom. This makes it a very compelling option against other sedans.

The Slavia will come with an electric sunroof, ventilated seats, digital instrument cluster, touchscreen infotainment system, dual-spoke multi-function steering wheel, automatic climate control and much more. There will be two petrol engine options to choose from. A 1.0-litre TSI and a more powerful 1.5-litre TSI. Both will come with a 6-speed manual gearbox as standard. You would also be able to choose an automatic transmission with both engines.