Škoda Auto Volkswagen India Private Limited (SAVWIPL) has crossed the 50,000-unit production milestone for its compact SUV Kylaq within a year of launch, underlining the growing role of locally developed models in the group’s India strategy.

Scale-up at Chakan plant

Manufactured at the Chakan plant near Pune, the Kylaq is the group’s first sub-four-metre SUV and has emerged as a key volume driver. According to the company, the model contributed significantly to the group’s 36% year-on-year growth in 2025, supported by higher localisation levels and increased production scale.

The milestone comes as SAVWIPL sharpens its focus on cost competitiveness, supplier integration and long-term manufacturing scale in India. To support Kylaq production, the company has raised capacity at the Chakan facility by about 30%, while deepening engagement with domestic suppliers to increase local sourcing.

‘Make in India’ push and policy context

Union Minister for Heavy Industries and Steel H.D. Kumaraswamy, who attended the milestone event, said the achievement reflected continued progress under the government’s ‘Make in India’ initiative. He congratulated the company on strengthening domestic manufacturing capabilities, according to the statement.

Piyush Arora, managing director and CEO of Škoda Auto Volkswagen India, said the production milestone highlighted customer acceptance of vehicles designed and manufactured locally. “The Kylaq’s scale-up demonstrates that products developed in India can meet domestic expectations while also being competitive for global markets,” he said.

Local platform, long-term strategy

The Kylaq is built on the MQB-A0-IN platform, which underpins several India-focused models across the group’s brands. Industry analysts note that such platforms have enabled global automakers to tailor products to Indian cost structures and usage patterns while maintaining global engineering standards.

SAVWIPL said the Kylaq milestone also reflects sustained investments over the past two decades in developing a skilled workforce and a local manufacturing ecosystem. The group operates two production facilities in India—at Chakan in Maharashtra and Shendra in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar—and manages multiple brands including Škoda, Volkswagen and Audi.

As the company looks to expand its portfolio and ramp up output, localisation and supplier partnerships are expected to remain central to its India operations. The Kylaq’s production scale-up signals a broader push by global carmakers to anchor growth in India through locally engineered, high-volume models amid an increasingly competitive passenger vehicle market.