The car is becoming more of a mobile phone on wheels: Gurpratap Boparai

At Skoda Auto Volkswagen India Media Night, organised in New Delhi, where Skoda displayed its VISION IN, a stunning concept for India, TURN OF SPEED, caught up with Gurpratap Boparai, Managing Director, Skoda Auto Volkswagen India Private Limited where he spoke about a growing nation's demand for better solutions, their Engineering Design Center, in Pune, and about how Skoda led VW Group will be a more significant player in the Auto industry in the coming years. Here are excerpts from the interview: TOS: What’s it like with Skoda leading the entire VW game plan right now? What plans ahead? GB: The idea of entrusting Skoda with leading this region was that Skoda with its design approach, engineering approach is suited to develop products for markets like India. Going forward we will bring new products, obviously. This is the initial part of our project, we start with four cars now…by now I mean, next year, and then we will clearly fill up the pipeline and have regular launches.  TOS: What is the pulse of the Indian customer feeling like? GB: Indian customers are extremely demanding, and let me say they are fairly open to switching between brands. That we have seen with many new entrants, even