Skoda is evaluating a 7-seater Kushaq for India, for the next generation of this SUV

Skoda is evaluating a 7-seater, three-row SUV for India, based on the Kushaq. On the sidelines of the Kylaq launch, we caught up with Petr Janeba, brand director for Skoda Auto India and asked him why Skoda chose to go ahead with a sub 4m SUV instead of a 7-seater based on the Kushaq. “It was evaluated. There was no business case,” he said. But that isn’t the end of the road for such an SUV. “We are, for the new Kushaq, evaluating this decision again,” he added. 

However, when Petr talks of the “new Kushaq”, he is not talking about the Kushaq facelift coming in 2025. He is talking about the Kushaq that will replace the facelift — a whole generation change. Petr said, “Next year, the facelift is coming. And then two-three years later is coming the successor model, which is a completely different car which is sharing with Kushaq only a name. This car can be made because it is done on a different platform, it can be done in two potential scenarios including the seven-seaters.”

You see, the Kushaq facelift will be mostly cosmetic and feature updates. Engineering another row in would have to have been done right at the conception of the project. Which is exactly what the team is doing now — evaluating this right at the planning stage for the new generation. It is also important to note that the MQB-A0-IN platform is designed for compact cars and has certain constraints when it comes to dimensions. Which is probably why a whole new platform is being evaluated for the next generation car — it will give Skoda flexibility to bring in cars positioned above the Kushaq as well. 

Petr was keen to stress that this is not set in stone. “We are evaluating this as a project. It is not planned. We are evaluating it for the new Kushaq successor.” So while the project isn’t signed off yet, if Skoda sees business sense in it, it could very well hit our roads some time in 2027-2028!