Combined domestic market wholesales of the Skoda Slavia and Volkswagen Virtus, the two sister midsize sedans manufactured by Skoda Auto Volkswagen India, have crossed the 150,000-unit mark and clocked 152,482 units at the end of January 2026. The VW Virtus, launched eight months after the Skoda Slavia in June 2022, has sold 79,104 units – 5,276 units more than its Skoda cousin (73,378 units) – and accounts for 52% of the two sedans’ combined sales in India.

On the export front, the VW Virtus has clocked overseas shipments of 102,350 units till end-January 2025, compared to the Skoda Slavia’s 66 units. This translates into the VW Virtus chalking up 181,454 combined domestic and export sales since launch, while the Slavia’s total is 73,444 units.

While the Skoda Slavia has sold 73,378 units till date, the VW Virtus has sold 79,104 units in India. After FY2026’s first 10 months, the Virtus and Slavia are ranked No. 4 and No. 5 amongst sedans.

The Skoda Slavia, which was launched on November 21, 2021, has till date sold a shade under 75,000 units. This sedan’s best fiscal was its first full year of sales – FY2023 – when it sold 22,351 units and accounted for 43% of Skoda Auto India’s overall PV sales (52,269 units) and 88% of its car sales (25,264 units). However, since then, sales have declined year on year – FY2024 (19,093 units, down 14%), FY2025 (15,586 units, down 18%) and FY2026’s first 10 months (11,821 units, down 12%).

The Volkswagen Virtus, launched eight months after the Slavia in June 2022, has sold over 79,000 units till date in India. As compared to the Slavia, the Virtus has seen sales rise year on year. In FY2023, with 17,432 units, the Virtus accounted for 42% of VW’s PV sales and 95% of its car sales (18,365 units). Sales rose 21% YoY in FY2024 (21,094 units) and 1.6% in FY2025 (21,432 units). In the current fiscal’s first 10 months, sales of 19,146 units are up 8% year on year.

In FY2026 YTD (first 10 months), of the 11 sedans currently sold in India, the Volkswagen Virtus (19,146 units) and Skoda Slavia (11,821 units) are ranked No. 4 and No. 5 respectively after the Maruti Dzire (188,580 units), Hyundai Aura (54,670 units), Honda Amaze (25,079 units) and are ahead of the Tata Tigor (9,719 units), Hyundai Verna (7,832 units), Honda City (5,867 units) and the Toyota Camry (1,924 units).

Plenty in Common but With Different Buyer Appeal

Both these midsize sedans have plenty in common, starting with the India-specific MQB-A0-IN platform developed by Skoda and VW teams in India in collaboration with the Volkswagen Group and with up to 95% localisation levels at start of production. For both Skoda India and VW India, the Slavia and Virtus are the second models to use the MQB-A0-IN platform after the Skoda Kushaq and VW Taigun SUVs, respectively.

Both these sedans are powered by 1.0-litre TSI (115hp, 178 Nm) and 1.5-litre TSI (150hp, 250 Nm) turbo-petrol engines mated to a six-speed manual / automatic transmission for the 1.0-litre engine and a seven-speed DSG for the 1.5-litre variant. Mileage-wise, depending upon the powertrain, the Skoda Slavia delivers 18.73kpl-20.32kpl, as compared to the Volkswagen Virtus’ 18.7kpl-20.19kpl.

Dimension-wise, other than a 20mm difference in length (Slavia: 4541mm / Virtus: 4561mm), width (1752mm), height (1507mm), wheelbase (2651mm) and tyres (205/55/R16) are the same. The key difference between the two feature-laden sedans is that while they have plenty in common, they appeal to different buyer sets. While the stylish and lower-priced Skoda Slavia appeals to the executive midsize sedan buyer keen on comfort and elegance and relaxed driving, the VW Virtus has a sportier feel to it and draws those who seek performance from their driving machines. This is amply reflected in the four GT variants the Virtus model offers.

While the Skoda Slavia’s pricing starts at Rs 10 lakh and goes up to Rs 17.99 lakh (ex-showroom) across 10 variants, the VW Virtus costs between Rs 10.50 lakh and Rs 19.00 lakh (ex-showroom), with 11 variants across six trim levels.

Both sedans, which are highly equipped on the safety front with standard features including six airbags, tyre pressure monitoring system, ABS and EBD, and electronic stability control, have both received a full five-star Global NCAP crash test rating in April 2023 for Adult Occupant Protection and Child Occupant Protection.

(With inputs from Autocar India)