Launched on June 28, 2021, the Kushaq turns four years old today and has sold 88,913 unit till end-May 2025. The first model to come from Skoda's 'India 2.0' programme of heavily localised and cost-competitive products, it remains a well-rounded midsize SUV, powered by strong 1.0- and 1.5-litre petrol engines, offers brilliant ride and handling and is high on safety.
28 Jun 2025 | 483 Views | By Ajit Dalvi
Today, June 28, 2025, marks four years of the Skoda Kushaq midsize SUV’s presence in the Indian market. Since launch, the Kushaq has, as per SIAM wholesales data, has clocked cumulative sales of 88,913 units and accounted for a 77% share of the 115,436 SUVs Skoda Auto India has sold ...
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Today, June 28, 2025, marks four years of the Skoda Kushaq midsize SUV’s presence in the Indian market. Since launch, the Kushaq has, as per SIAM wholesales data, has clocked cumulative sales of 88,913 units and accounted for a 77% share of the 115,436 SUVs Skoda Auto India has sold since FY2022 through till April-May 2025. This clearly establishes the key role of the Kushaq in enabling the Czech carmaker to benefit from the booming SUV market in India and also increase its SUV share.
The Kushaq, which rolled out of the Chakan, Pune plant with high 95 percent localisation level, marked the entry of the Skoda brand into India’s fast-growing midsize SUV market which encompasses SUVs with length ranging between 4000mm and 4500mm.
The Kushaq, which was the first model to come from Skoda's 'India 2.0' programme of heavily localised and cost-competitive products, was developed exclusively for India. It is the Czech carmaker’s first production model based on the MQB-A0-IN platform, an MQB variant adapted by Skoda for India and to be used on other Volkswagen Group models in India which includes Skoda’s latest model, the Kylaq compact SUV.
The Kushaq’s arrival in the midsize SUV market had an immediate impact. In its first fiscal (FY2022), it sold 21,427 units and accounted for an overwhelming 98.05% of Skoda SUV sales, with the next best being the Kodiaq (381 units). FY2023 with 25,300 units is till date the Kushaq’s best fiscal – the 25,300 units were a 18% YoY increase and contributed 94% to Skoda Auto India’s UV sales of 27,005 units.
Since then, however, demand for the Kushaq has fallen. In FY2024, the Kushaq’s sales of 23,396 units were down 7.53% YoY but fell sharply by 26% in FY2025 to 17,363 units in FY2025. As a result, its contribution to company UV sales also dropped from 92.53% to 59% in FY2025 albeit it still was part of the Top 15 midsize SUVs listing at 15th position.
With the runaway success of its new sibling, the Skoda Kylaq compact SUV launched in January 2025, Kushaq sales in April-May 2025 have fallen 38% to 1,427 units and just 12% of Skoda Auto India’s 12,055 UVs sold in the past two months of the current fiscal year which have seen the Kylaq sell 10,313 units and 85% share of Skoda India’s UV sales.
The petrol-only Kushaq, which is available in 13 variants, powered by 115hp 1.0-litre and 150hp 1.5-litre turbo-petrol engines with manual and automatic gearbox options, delivers brilliant ride and handling. However, it misses out on some features offered on some rivals but suffice it to say it is a well-rounded midsize SUV.
The Kushaq fares very strongly on the safety front. In October 2022, the Kushaq along with its sister model the Volkswagen Taigun achieved a top five-star crash test rating from Global NCAP for both adult and child occupant protection. In April 2024, in a move targeted at enhanced occupant safety, Skoda Auto India introduced fitment of six airbags as standard across all Kushaq variants.
In October 2022, the Kushaq became the first-ever locally-built Skoda model to be exported from India. The first consignment of Kushaq left-hand-drive SUVs was dispatched to Arab Gulf Cooperation Council (AGCC) countries. As per SIAM data, a total of 3,447 Kushaqs have been exported till end-May 2025.