Volkswagen AG, the world’s second largest car maker in the world by sales, is now aggressively targeting the Indian mass market. It is looking at the segment below the Polo, which has now gone into series, that is, commercial, production at the brand new plant at Chakan. This small car could come through its recently announced tie up with Suzuki.
Jochem Heizmann, member of the Volkswagen AG board responsible for group production, said, “Clearly, for the long term for the Indian market, there is a need for a car below the Polo. We are investigating different solutions but we definitely need a smaller car below the Polo. The Up! concept car we showed at the 2008 Delhi Auto Show could be a solution.”
The Polo will officially be launched at the Delhi Auto Expo on January 4 when its price will also be announced. Currently, the VW brand has 35 dealers across the country with plans to increase this to 40, VW India president and managing director, Joerg Mueller, said.
Declining to comment on how many units of the Polo it will produce per day, Mr Mueller said, “We will start production of the Polo slowly: this is a learning curve and depending on market demand, we will ramp up.”
The Polo hatchback will be launched with 50 per cent local content which is expected to go up to 80 per cent over the next three-five years, Prof Dr Heizmann, said.
He added, “We have a plan for localisation, part by part, month by month. Localising the power train is an open issue since there is a variety of engines and gearboxes and volumes will matter. For the long term, we will have to look local production of the power train.”
According to a news report in ET Zigwheels (July 29, 2008), VW is lining up local suppliers for engine parts while the aluminium blocks could be imported in the first phase. VW India, which currently makes 40 Fabia cars a day at its greenfield Chakan plant, about 45 kms from Pune, plans to roll out three models from its manufacturing line. After the Fabia and the Polo, the third car will be a saloon to be launched by mid-10 and is expected to share the same platform as the Fabia and the Polo.
Mr Mueller said they have begun an employee training centre for their managers, shop floor employees and will later include dealer staff in addition to a centre to train the trainers.
The expectation is that the German vocational training model could be implemented here, ensuring that locals get employment. VW group company SkodaAuto has a plant at Shendra, near Aurangabad. This is its limited volume plant assembling the Audi A4 and A6 and VW’s Passat and Jetta.
Dr Heizmann explained, “This (Chakan) is a flexible plant and we have installed equipment here for three cars (models) although it can do more than three. This plant works with the Aurangabad plant which produces cars which have limited volumes offering a bigger variety. This our combined concept.” He also spelled out the positioning of the three brands VW currently offers in India, the Audi, VW and Skoda.
“The Skoda is a high quality affordable car, the VW is a premium brand with high quality and high volumes. The Audi is in the upper, luxury segment,” Dr Heizmann clarified. He added that launch of VW Commercial Vehicles in India is still being “investigated” and nothing has been decided.
Jochem Heizmann, member of the Volkswagen AG board responsible for group production, said, “Clearly, for the long term for the Indian market, there is a need for a car below the Polo. We are investigating different solutions but we definitely need a smaller car below the Polo. The Up! concept car we showed at the 2008 Delhi Auto Show could be a solution.”
The Polo will officially be launched at the Delhi Auto Expo on January 4 when its price will also be announced. Currently, the VW brand has 35 dealers across the country with plans to increase this to 40, VW India president and managing director, Joerg Mueller, said.
Declining to comment on how many units of the Polo it will produce per day, Mr Mueller said, “We will start production of the Polo slowly: this is a learning curve and depending on market demand, we will ramp up.”
The Polo hatchback will be launched with 50 per cent local content which is expected to go up to 80 per cent over the next three-five years, Prof Dr Heizmann, said.
He added, “We have a plan for localisation, part by part, month by month. Localising the power train is an open issue since there is a variety of engines and gearboxes and volumes will matter. For the long term, we will have to look local production of the power train.”
According to a news report in ET Zigwheels (July 29, 2008), VW is lining up local suppliers for engine parts while the aluminium blocks could be imported in the first phase. VW India, which currently makes 40 Fabia cars a day at its greenfield Chakan plant, about 45 kms from Pune, plans to roll out three models from its manufacturing line. After the Fabia and the Polo, the third car will be a saloon to be launched by mid-10 and is expected to share the same platform as the Fabia and the Polo.
Mr Mueller said they have begun an employee training centre for their managers, shop floor employees and will later include dealer staff in addition to a centre to train the trainers.
The expectation is that the German vocational training model could be implemented here, ensuring that locals get employment. VW group company SkodaAuto has a plant at Shendra, near Aurangabad. This is its limited volume plant assembling the Audi A4 and A6 and VW’s Passat and Jetta.
Dr Heizmann explained, “This (Chakan) is a flexible plant and we have installed equipment here for three cars (models) although it can do more than three. This plant works with the Aurangabad plant which produces cars which have limited volumes offering a bigger variety. This our combined concept.” He also spelled out the positioning of the three brands VW currently offers in India, the Audi, VW and Skoda.
“The Skoda is a high quality affordable car, the VW is a premium brand with high quality and high volumes. The Audi is in the upper, luxury segment,” Dr Heizmann clarified. He added that launch of VW Commercial Vehicles in India is still being “investigated” and nothing has been decided.
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