Skoda Kamiq unveiled before Auto China 2018 debut
Skoda has unveiled the Chinese-market-only Skoda Kamiq small SUV ahead of its official debut at the Auto China 2018. The car sits below the Karoq in its range there and is built on the underpinnings of the Chinese market Rapid.
The car features a design closely reminiscent of the Kodiaq. The Kamiq is differentiated by a less detailed design with simpler projector headlamps and taillamps, a smaller Skoda butterfly grille and less contoured bumpers with inbuilt LED DRLs. This simplistic interpretation of the Skoda SUV design language also carries over to the rear. The car also looks more upright when seen in profile alongside its European stablemates.
The interior also follows the design theme of the Skoda SUV line-up with a contoured dash, vertical AC-vents and a touchscreen infotainment in the middle. The steering wheel, instrument cluster, door trim and gear lever all seem to come from the Skoda parts bin.
Although engine options weren't revealed, the car is expected to be powered by a 1.5-litre naturally aspirated petrol motor which puts out 108PS. The Kamiq is slightly longer than 4m in length and is built by Shanghai-VW. While there is no news of the Kamiq coming to India, this SUV could fill a gap in Skoda's line-up in India. The car can be positioned below the upcoming Karoq and could be a viable alternative to the Hyundai Creta and lower-spec Jeep Compass models, although we understand that India might get a country-specific small SUV unrelated to the Kamiq. The Kamiq is expected to be priced from RMB 90,000 or Rs 9.39 lakh when launched in China and will compete with the Hyundai ix25, Citroën C3-XR and Nissan Kicks in its home market.
China is the biggest market for Skoda worldwide and it will soon have four SUVs in its line-up there. These are the Kodiaq, Karoq, Kamiq and an upcoming Kodiaq GT Coupe.