Skoda India Recalls 539 Units Of Octavia

It has been a worrisome week for car owners as two premium car marques initiated a car recall programme in India. A few days ago, Mahindra-owned SsangYong owed up to a possible faulty rear driveshaft in its only offering in India, the Rexton, and said it will contact the owners of the affected cars individually. Now, it's Czech carmaker Skoda that has started a recall campaign for its executive sedan, the Octavia.

“The campaign is related to 539 Octavia units produced between November 2015 and April 2016,” Skoda India said in a statement. The recall is to check the manual child lock for the rear doors. The entire process to ensure the mechanism for the locks works properly, will take 12 minutes only. Skoda said that its dealers will contact the customers to get an appointment. Skoda India added, “In case the locks need to be replaced under the service campaign, the process will conclude in 45 minutes and will be done at no cost to the customer."

Skoda sells four models in the Indian market – the Rapid, Yeti, Octavia and Superb. The Octavia competes with the likes of its sibling, the Volkswagen Jetta; the Japanese offering Toyota Corolla Altis; and the American Chevrolet Cruze. Prices for the Octavia start at Rs 16.58 lakh for the entry-level Ambition 1.4 TSI model and range up to Rs 22.41 lakh for the top variant, Style Plus 2.0 TDI CR AT (prices ex-showroom, Delhi).

Voluntary recall campaigns for safety-related issues began after industry body SIAM (Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers) introduced the practice in July 2012. Since then, over two million vehicles have been recalled in India by various automotive brands.