German car giant Volkswagen Group has had a limited presence in the Indian market despite its huge India 2.0 push as its products are largely only covering the sedan and mid-SUV segments. That is set to change with the group entering the hot and rapidly growing sub-four metre compact sports utility vehicle space.

Czech car maker Skoda on Wednesday took the wraps off its compact SUV Kylaq. This should help the company widen its customer base ad well as tap new markets.

The Skoda Kylaq has been priced aggressively at a starting price of Rs 7.89 lakh ex-showroom.

The full price announcement across variants and trims will be made on December 2, which is when formal bookings will also commence. Customer deliveries are planned from January 27, 2025.

“The Skoda Kylaq is our first sub-4 metre SUV, designed in India and for India as a new entry point to our brand. India is key to our internationalization plans, the world’s third largest car market, and SUVs make up 50 per cent of new vehicle sales,” said Klaus Zellmer, CEO of Skoda Auto.

The Kylaq will be the third Made in India model by Skoda, which includes the Kushaq mid SUV and the Slavia sedan. It also sells the Kodiaq SUV in the country, which is imported.

The Kylaq joins a crowded compact SUV segment where it will rival the likes of Hyundai Venue, Kia Sonet, Mahindra XUV 3XO, Tata Nexon and Maruti Suzuki Brezza.

Over a two year period of 2022 and 2023, Skoda sold over 1 lakh units. With the Kylaq being launched, Skoda Auto has set a target to annually sell 1 lakh units by 2026.

The Kylaq is powered by a 1 litre TSI engine producing 85 kW of power and 178 Nm of torque. It is mated to a six speed manual or a six speed torque converter automatic transmission. Certain variants will also get paddle shifters.

It is based on the same MQB-AO-IN platform as the Kushaq and Slavia.

The Kylaq will come standard with over 25 active and passive safety features, including six airbags, traction and stability control, anti-lock brakes among other things. 

EX-CONSTRUCTION worker Richard Holden had been chasing the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to approve his pension credit claim for almost a year when The Sun stepped in to help him.

The 75-year-old from Blackpool rang our Winter Fuel SOS hotline last month as he was concerned that he would miss out on this year’s winter fuel payment.

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Our expert team has been working tirelessly to assist readers following the government’s decision to axe the winter fuel benefit worth up to £300 for 10million pensioners.

Cuts made by Chancellor Rachel Reeves mean the payment is now limited to retirees on pension credit or those receiving certain other means-tested benefits.

More than 760,000 risk missing out if they don’t apply for pension credit before December 21.

Like millions of other state pensioners, Richard would’ve lost his payment this year.

The 75-year-old retired last year and now lives on his state pension, which amounts to £222.70 per week – just £2 above the threshold to qualify for pension credit.

However, because he also receives extra cash help through attendance allowance, benefit checks revealed that he’s could apply for pension credit.

His attendance allowance, worth £108.55 per week, has been a crucial aid in covering his increased living costs due to arthritis and type two diabetes.

Citizens Advice helped him initiate his pension credit claim back in November 2023, but by the end of October 2024, he was still yet to receive any payments.

He told The Sun: “I’ve only just retired last August and I’m having to cut costs everywhere I look.

“I’ve phoned the DWP ten times since December last year, and every single time, the agent has just fobbed me off and told me that they’d be in touch in 10 working days.

“The last call I made was back in September. It’s a total disgrace.”

The Sun contacted the DWP on Richard’s behalf and requested that his case be investigated.

Upon discovering that Richard was eligible for £75 per week in pension credit, the DWP processed his claim.

Since Richard had formally applied for pension credit in November 2023, the DWP also agreed to issue backdated payments totalling £3,787.33, covering the period from August 2023 to October 2024.

He received payments from August 2023 because new pension credit claims can be backdated by three months.

The remaining amount was issued to account for the fact that he had been eligible for the benefit but faced unnecessary delays in being informed of his eligibility.

Additionally, because Richard was found to be eligible for the benefit during the period when the Conservative government was issuing a £300 cost of living payment, he also received this amount.

A government spokesperson said: “We are sorry for the delay in confirming Mr Holden’s eligibility for pension credit.

“We have now issued payment for the pension credit owed backdated to August 2023, as well as a cost-of-living payment of £300.

“We have apologised to Mr Holden, and we will learn lessons from the service delays in this case.”

The Sun’s Winter Fuel S.O.S Campaign

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THE Sun’s Winter Fuel SOS Campaign is here to support households during these challenging times.

Due to government cutbacks, ten million pensioners are set to lose the £300 Winter Fuel Payment.

Since opening our phone lines to thousands of pensioners in October, we remain dedicated to providing tips and advice on how to stretch your finances further.

That’s why we have partnered with the poverty charity Turn2Us to launch a free benefits checker, helping you ensure that you are claiming all the benefits to which you are entitled.

Don’t miss our latest Sun Money coverage, which includes essential information on key deadlines, applying for support, and everything you need to know about Pension Credit.

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If you have a story to share or wish to get in touch with our team, please email us at money-sm@news.co.uk.

CHECK IF YOU QUALIFY

Pension credit tops up your weekly income to £218.15 if you are single or to £332.95 if you have a partner.

This is known as “guarantee credit”.

If your income is lower than this, you’re very likely to be eligible for the benefit.

However, if your income is slightly higher, you might still be eligible for pension credit if you have a disability, you care for someone, you have savings or you have housing costs.

You could get an extra £81.50 a week if you have a disability or claim any of the following:

• Attendance allowance
• The middle or highest rate from the care component of disability living allowance (DLA)
• The daily living component of personal independence payment (PIP)
• Armed forces independence payment
• The daily living component of adult disability payment (ADP) at the standard or enhanced rate.

You could get the “savings credit” part of pension credit if both of the following apply:

• You reached State Pension age before April 6, 2016
• You saved some money for retirement, for example, a personal or workplace pension

This part of pension credit is worth £17.01 for single people or £19.04 for couples.

Claims for pension credit also open doors to a number of freebies and discounts.

For example, pension credit claimants over 75 qualify for a free TV licence worth up to £169.50 a year.

Claims for the benefit also provide eligibility to £25 a week cold weather payments and the £150 warm home discount.

The deadline to apply for pension credit and qualify for this year’s winter fuel payment is December 21.

We have a guide on all the state pension freebies and discounts you can get.

How much is the winter fuel payment and how is it paid?

Payments last year were worth between £300 and £600, depending on your specific circumstances.

This is because the amount included a “Pensioner Cost of Living Payment” – between £150 and £300. 

This year, it will be worth £200 for eligible households or £300 for eligible households with someone aged over 80.

That means you could receive up to £300 in free cash depending on your circumstances.

Most payments are made automatically in November or December.

You’ll get a letter telling you:

• How much you’ll get
• Which bank account it will be paid into

If you do not get a letter or the money has not been paid into your account by January 29, 2025, you must contact the Winter Fuel Payment Centre on 0800 731 0160.

The average UK house price reached a record high last month, according to Halifax.

The UK’s largest mortgage lender said the average price hit £293,999 in October, surpassing a peak of £293,507 that was reached in June 2022.

Halifax said it expected prices to continue to rise at a “modest pace” for the next few months.

However, it warned that mortgage costs could remain “higher for longer” following last week’s Budget.

Following the Budget, which included plans to borrow and spend billions of pounds, financial markets expect the Bank of England to cut rates more slowly than previously anticipated.

However, the Bank is still expected to cut its key rate to 4.75% from 5% later on Thursday.

Halifax said house prices edged up by 0.2% in October, meaning property values have now increased for four months in a row.

House prices are up 3.9% from a year earlier, Halifax said, which is a slight decrease from the 4.6% annual increase seen in September.

Commenting on the new record high, Amanda Bryden, head of mortgages at Halifax, said: “That house prices have reached these heights again in the current economic climate may come as a surprise to many, but perhaps more noteworthy is that they didn’t fall very far in the first place.

“Despite the headwind of higher interest rates, house prices have mostly levelled off over the past two and a half years, recording a +0.2% increase overall.”

REVOLUT’s app is down leaving hundreds of customers complaining they are locked out of their accounts.

Hundreds of users have reported issues accessing the app, and many cannot transfer money.

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Problems started at around 7.30am this morning, according to Downdetector, which monitors outages.

Frustrated customers took to X (formerly Twitter) to share how they were being affected by the outage.

One customer said: “Revolut down, and I’m about to arrive in a foreign country with no access to funds.”

Another said: ” I can’t access my account or make any payments. Anyone else experiencing this?”

“The main app and the Revolut X app are both down, and so are both on a web browser.

“I can log in but can’t do anything else, not even report a problem,” said a third customer.

Revolut is an e-money institution that operates similarly to a bank, providing a range of comparable services to over 10million users.

Unlike traditional banks, Revolut is entirely branchless.

Instead, all transactions and account management are conducted online via the Revolut app on your smartphone.

Users can easily open an account and receive a payment card, available as a physical card sent by post, a virtual card on your phone, or both.

Additionally, the app allows you to send money abroad, save funds, and even buy and sell cryptocurrency and stocks.

Revolut was granted a bank licence in July 2024. However, it continues to operate as an e-money institution during its “mobilisation” period.

This means that, unlike traditional banks, your money is not protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS).

So, if the bank were to go bust, your funds would be safeguarded up to £85,000.

However, any cash in one of Revolut’s savings “vaults” is held at a licenced bank, and this will be protected as that bank is part of the FSCS.

Can I claim compensation for the outage?

Banks and e-money firms don’t have to pay out compensation to customers if there has been a drop in service, unlike how telecom companies have to.

But if you have incurred costs due to service issues, you could likely get your money back.

For example, if a bill payment didn’t go through due to an outage and you’ve been charged a fee for missing it, you should be able to claim that money back.

If your credit rating has been affected by a service outage because you got a late payment fee after being unable to make a transaction, you should also keep a record of this.

If you spoke to anyone to try and resolve the problem, make a note of their name, and when you speak to them, roughly state what you discussed and what they advised you to do.

You can find out more details about how to complain on the bank’s website.

It is worth gathering evidence of your problems to formally complain to the bank or e-money institution directly.

For more information on how to lodge a complaint with Revolut, please visit revolut.com/legal/complaints-policy.

What happens if my bank or e-money firm refuses to compensate me?

If you’re unhappy with how Revolut dealt with your problem, contact the free Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS).

It is an independent body that will consider the evidence you present and make a fair decision about the action a bank should take.

The FOS can usually get involved 15 days after you’ve raised concerns with the bank.

In the case of an IT system outage at a bank, the FOS says any compensation depends on your circumstances and whether you lost out as a result.

If it thinks you did, it can tell the bank or e-money institution to reimburse any fees, charges, or fines you were hit with, for example, if you could not pay on a credit card bill or to your mortgage provider.

It could also tell a bank to pay you for any money you didn’t receive, such as interest, if you couldn’t pay money in.

If your credit score was affected, it may tell the bank to correct your credit file.

The FOS might also tell the bank to reimburse you for any extra costs you had to make, such as phone calls or trips to your local branch, and a payment for any inconvenience it caused.

To find out more, visit financial-ombudsman.org.uk.

Hi from Taipei, where it’s really starting to feel like autumn! This is Cheng Ting-Fang, your #techAsia host for this week.

I just got back from a short trip to Bangkok, and I can still taste the refreshing flavours of pomelo salad with chilli, roasted peanuts and heart-shaped betel leaves. With its wide variety of crispy fish cakes, satay, spring rolls and pork wantons, not to mention curries and coconut treats, Thailand truly lives up to its nickname as the “kitchen of the world”.

During these overseas trips, I always love to observe my surroundings, especially at or near the airport, as they often provide insight into local developments that one can then dig into more deeply.

The boarding announcements at the airport on this visit showed frequent direct flights between Bangkok and numerous Chinese cities, including not only major metropolises like Shanghai, Beijing and Shenzhen but also smaller cities such as Jinan, Hefei, Kunming, Nanning and Fuzhou.

As soon as I left Suvarnabhumi Airport and hit the highway to downtown, I was greeted by a series of massive billboards. The first few showcased Huawei Technologies’ wearable devices and tablets, followed by a gigantic ad for ruby-red roadsters made by MG, a traditional British brand now owned by Chinese auto giant SAIC Motor.

The sight reminded me that Thailand is emerging as a key battleground for established carmakers like Toyota Motor, Honda Motor and Ford as well as rising Chinese electric vehicle producers such as MG, BYD and Neta Auto. It also illustrated that Huawei is still serious about maintaining its presence in overseas consumer electronics markets. The taxi driver kindly apologised for the traffic jam we ran into along the way — another sign of the buzzing economy.

Thailand has also benefited from the massive supply chain shift sparked by US-China trade tensions, as seen in the flow of foreign direct investment. In 2023, China was the top investor, contributing 24 per cent of total FDI, primarily in electronics manufacturing and automotive supply chains. FDI in the first nine months of 2024 hit its highest level in a decade, led by “American and Chinese companies’ units in Singapore”, according to government data.

With former US President Donald Trump set to return to office, supply chains are expected to experience further decoupling depending on how his policies play out.

Servers to order

Apple is looking to build its own data centre servers and is asking for help from one of its most important suppliers: Foxconn, the world’s biggest iPhone assembler.

Apple, a consumer tech giant, has less experience in building servers than companies HP and Google and is hoping to leverage the experience and expertise of Foxconn, which is also the world’s top AI data centre server maker, Lauly Li and Cheng Ting-Fang of Nikkei Asia write.

The talks come as Apple begins rolling out Apple Intelligence, the AI platform that has helped spur demand for the latest iPhones.

Apple hopes to build AI servers in the Taiwanese city of Hsinchu, sources said, the same location where Foxconn produces the latest servers for Nvidia. But that could be difficult, as space and manufacturing resources are constrained by soaring demand for Nvidia products.

Calling for investment

Just days into his presidency, Indonesia’s new leader has sent a strong message to foreign tech companies looking to sell in the world’s fourth-most populous country: invest locally or lose access to the market.

But analysts warn that strategy, which is hitting the likes of Apple and Google, could backfire as competition in the region for foreign direct investment heats up, write the Financial Times’ A. Anantha Lakshmi and Diana Mariska in Jakarta.

Over the past week, Prabowo Subianto’s government has banned sales of Apple’s iPhone 16 and Google’s Pixel phones, citing the companies’ failure to meet requirements that 40 per cent of products are made with locally sourced raw materials.

Indonesia, with a young, tech-savvy population, holds a lot of potential for Apple and Google. Neither company has manufacturing plants in the country, though Apple has one supplier with a factory in Indonesia.

The bans signal that south-east Asia’s largest economy could step up the use of restrictive trade policies to secure investments from foreign companies. However, experts warn the strategy may end up harming Indonesia as its neighbours, such as Vietnam and Malaysia, take a more investor-friendly approach.

The price of progress

From chipsets to cameras, Apple spent more on key electronic components for its latest flagship iPhone than it did on last year’s offering, according to a teardown by Masaharu Ban and Yusuke Yagi of Nikkei in collaboration with Tokyo-based Fomalhaut Techno Solutions.

The total cost of materials for the iPhone 16 Pro reached $568, with much of the additional cost going to enable artificial intelligence computing, the analysis showed. The phone’s US retail price is $999.

The team also disassembled Google’s flagship Pixel 9 Pro released this August and found that the cost of its key parts has actually decreased over the years.

The most expensive component in the latest iPhone 16 Pro is the in-house designed A18 Pro core processor, which is about $135, made through the advanced 3nm process by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co, the world’s top contract chipmaker. Google’s core chip cost is significantly less.

Extreme machines

The race to produce ever more advanced semiconductors continues as TSMC prepares to receive its first set of the world’s most cutting-edge lithography chipmaking machines from ASML, Cheng Ting-Fang of Nikkei Asia writes.

Known as high numerical aperture extreme ultraviolet — or high NA EUV — lithography machines, they cost around $350mn each, about the price of three F-35 fighter jets. They are nearly twice as expensive as a standard EUV machine but can print almost three times as many transistors. In chipmaking, the more transistors that can be packed into a given chip area, the more powerful and advanced the chip becomes.

Intel has already secured the first two sets of high NA EUV machines as part of the US chip giant’s efforts to accelerate its development and reclaim its leading position in the chip industry.

TSMC was an early adopter of EUV technology, introducing it into its chipmaking process in 2019, several years ahead of Intel, which only released its first EUV-based core chipset last year. The Taiwanese chipmaker will use its first set of high NA EUV machines for research and development purposes initially, with sources indicating that the company may not deploy them for mass production until after 2030.

Suggested reads

1. Trump win casts cloud over TSMC and Samsung US chip plans (Nikkei Asia)

2. Chipmaker TSMC hit by Taiwan’s soaring energy prices and growing outages (FT)

3. Malaysia expects its ‘remarkable’ IPO boom to continue in 2025 (Nikkei Asia)

4. US Space Force warns of ‘mind-boggling’ build-up of Chinese capabilities (FT)

5. China’s chipmaking equipment market to shrink next year (Nikkei Asia)

6. South-east Asia’s digital companies boost profitability after pandemic: report (Nikkei Asia)

7. Premium EVs should help put Xiaomi on the podium (FT)

8. US EV policy yet to help Pilbara’s battery chemical venture: CEO (Nikkei Asia)

9. Japan eyes customer safeguards against fall of foreign crypto exchanges (Nikkei Asia)

10. Chinese sanctions hit US drone maker supplying Ukraine (FT)

#techAsia is co-ordinated by Nikkei Asia’s Katherine Creel in Tokyo, with assistance from the FT tech desk in London. 

Sign up here at Nikkei Asia to receive #techAsia each week. The editorial team can be reached at techasia@nex.nikkei.co.jp