Skoda bringing back the ‘Octavia’ name

Laura name will be dropped altogether. New car based on VW Group’s MQB modular platform

Skoda is planning to bring the Octavia brand back to India in 2013, and will in the process replace the current Laura. This all-new model, codenamed A7, is expected to make its debut at the Geneva motor show next year. It will be built on VW’s modular MQB platform and will be substantially bigger than the Laura.

Skoda India plans to drop the Laura name altogether when it is launched, and the new car will be called the Octavia, bringing it back in line with the nomenclature used in international markets.

“I like the name Octavia, it’s the best-selling car for Skoda and will definitely come back to India,” confirmed Professor Winfried Vahland during the Auto Expo.

Skoda launched the first-generation Octavia over a decade ago and the car established Skoda as a luxury and upmarket brand in India. The company continued to produce the Octavia even after its successor was launched as the Laura. After BS IV emission norms came into effect in 2010, Skoda discontinued the Octavia in the major cities and production eventually stopped in July