The 70-day cross-continental journey puts the spotlight on India’s growing role in Skoda Auto’s global engineering and manufacturing ecosystem

Mumbai, July 9, 2026: India’s emergence as a global automotive manufacturing and engineering hub has received another symbolic boost, with the Made-in-India Skoda Kylaq completing a 19,351-km overland journey from Pune to Prague.

The compact SUV covered two continents and 13 countries over 70 days, travelling through some of the world’s most demanding road, altitude and climatic conditions. The journey began at the Skoda Auto Volkswagen India manufacturing facility in Pune, where the Kylaq is produced, and concluded in Prague after connecting with Mladá Boleslav, the historic home of Skoda Auto in the Czech Republic.

Beyond being a long-distance endurance drive, the expedition highlights the increasing strategic importance of India within global automotive product development and manufacturing networks.

From an Indian Factory to the Brand’s European Home

The route carried a strong symbolic message. The Kylaq is Skoda Auto’s first sub-four-metre SUV developed specifically for India and is built on the locally engineered MQB-A0-IN platform.

The platform was developed through collaboration between engineering teams in India and the Czech Republic, reflecting the changing role of Indian operations within multinational automobile companies. India is increasingly moving beyond being merely a low-cost production base to becoming a market for product development, engineering and platform localisation.

The expedition began in Pune and moved through Mumbai, Vadodara, Udaipur, Jaipur, Agra and Lucknow before reaching the Nepal border near Gorakhpur.

From there, the Kylaq travelled through Nepal and crossed the Tibetan Plateau in China. It then followed parts of the ancient Silk Road through Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan before continuing into Georgia and Türkiye.

The European leg took the SUV through Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary and Slovakia before the journey culminated in Prague.

Extreme Conditions Put Engineering to a Real-World Test

During the 70-day expedition, the India-made SUV encountered dramatic variations in geography and climate.

The journey covered elevations ranging from 154 metres below sea level to 5,364 metres above sea level. Temperatures varied from minus 12 degrees Celsius to 43 degrees Celsius.

This meant the vehicle had to operate across high-altitude plateaus, mountain roads, long-distance highways and widely differing climatic conditions.

For an automobile manufacturer, such a journey offers more than brand visibility. Extended real-world driving across multiple geographies can also demonstrate how a vehicle performs under conditions that are difficult to replicate through a single test environment.

‘Demonstration of Indian Engineering and Manufacturing’

Ashish Gupta, Brand Director, Skoda Auto India, said the Pune-to-Prague expedition demonstrated what Indian engineering and manufacturing can achieve on the global stage.

“The Pune to Prague expedition is much more than the completion of an extraordinary journey. It is a powerful demonstration of what Indian engineering and manufacturing can achieve on the global stage,” Gupta said.

He added that across 19,351 kilometres, 13 countries and varied driving conditions, the India-made Kylaq demonstrated its engineering capabilities through real-world experience.

According to Gupta, the expedition also reinforces India’s growing role in shaping Skoda Auto’s global future and reflects the company’s confidence in building world-class products in the country.

Why the Journey Matters for India’s Auto Manufacturing Story

The larger business significance of the expedition lies in the evolution of India’s automobile manufacturing ecosystem.

For decades, India’s automotive advantage was often associated primarily with lower manufacturing costs and a large domestic consumer market. That narrative has gradually expanded as global automakers increase localisation, engineering participation and India-specific product development.

The Kylaq represents this shift. Developed specifically for the Indian market, the SUV is based on the MQB-A0-IN platform, a localised architecture created through cooperation between Indian and Czech teams.

A Made-in-India vehicle completing a 19,351-km journey across Asia and Europe therefore carries significance beyond a marketing expedition. It underlines the ability of Indian manufacturing operations to produce vehicles designed for demanding and diverse real-world conditions.

What Powers the Skoda Kylaq?

The Kylaq is powered by a 1.0-litre TSI petrol engine producing 114 PS of power and 178 Nm of torque.

It is offered with a six-speed manual transmission and a six-speed automatic torque converter. Significantly, the entire Pune-to-Prague expedition was completed by the automatic variant.

The sub-four-metre SUV category is one of the most competitive segments in India’s passenger vehicle market, making the Kylaq an important product in Skoda Auto India’s domestic growth strategy.

Kylaq Also Features in India and Asia Record Books

The Kylaq has also been recognised by the India Book of Records and the Asia Book of Records as part of the “Fastest Multi-Car Relay of a Single Manufacturer on a Circuit.”

Together with the Kushaq, Slavia, Octavia RS and Kodiaq, the Kylaq helped Skoda Auto India achieve a combined relay time of 12 minutes and 30.97 seconds.

Business Fortnight Perspective

The Pune-to-Prague expedition is clearly a brand-led initiative, but its broader relevance lies in what it says about India’s changing position in the global automobile industry.

The important story is not simply that an SUV travelled 19,351 kilometres. It is that a vehicle manufactured in Pune, built on a platform engineered with significant India-focused development, was taken across 13 countries and sharply contrasting operating conditions before reaching the European home of the brand.

For India’s manufacturing sector, this reflects a wider transition—from being viewed mainly as a cost-efficient production destination to becoming an increasingly important centre for localisation, engineering collaboration and market-specific product development.

Whether this engineering narrative ultimately translates into stronger sales and market share for the Kylaq will depend on more familiar business fundamentals: pricing, ownership costs, after-sales reach, customer confidence and competitive positioning in India’s crowded compact SUV market.

The post Made-in-India Skoda Kylaq Completes 19,351-km Pune-to-Prague Drive Across 13 Countries appeared first on Businessfortnight.

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