Small car buyers may soon have one more option. German car maker Volkswagen, maker of Lamborghini and Audi, will bring in a ‘completely new’ small car that is currently being designed for the Indian market.
The VW small car will, however, not compete in the same space as Tata’s Rs 1-lakh offering, officials said.
Volkswagen India president & Volkswagen Group Sales India managing director Joerg Mueller said the small car, currently under development in Germany, is expected to be launched from VW’s greenfield facility at Chakan, near Pune, by 2009.
Volkswagen is investing E410 million in a greenfield plant at Chakan, which could be ready by mid-2008, ahead of schedule, officials told ET.
VW’s sedan Passat, launched on Wednesday, is being assembled at group company Skoda’s plant at Shendra, near Aurangabad. Mr Mueller said the company will use both the plants ‘synergistically’, sharing modules without specifying details. The 2-litre diesel engine car is priced at Rs 22.35-24.35 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi) and officials said its petrol version could arrive in 3-6 months, depending on customer response.
Between the launch of the Passat and the small car, the German car maker is looking to launch its Polo and Jetta cars. VW officials indicated the Polo could come by 2009, powered by a 1.4-litre diesel engine and priced in the range of Rs 5-7 lakh.
Volkswagen passenger cars executive director (international sales) Kevin Rose said the small car could have 50-60% local content.
“In successful markets, we have localisation levels of 50-60%. We have begun local sourcing for our global operations, for things such as wire harnesses, and we will step it up. It is very small now but India has the potential to supply components for our global production. Our suppliers for the Indian operations will get volumes by supplying to our global operations,” Mr Rose said.
Volkswagen Passenger Cars India MD Andreas Prinz said two dealers in Mumbai and Bangalore will become operational in two weeks. The company expects to have over 10 dealers by the end of next year. “We will first target the metros and tier-I cities and then go to Ludhiana, Chandigarh and other cities in the south,” Mr Prinz said.
VW working on small car for India; won’t fight Rs 1L car
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