Volkswagen ties up with Zoomcar for subscription based service in India

Shared mobility is slowly catching on the attention of numerous car manufacturers in India. Hyundai, Skoda and Jeep are some of the automobile brands in India who have already announced their tie-ups with multiple self drive platforms. And now Volkswagen has announced a partnership with Zoomcar to offer subscription based services in the country. For now, the only Volkswagen model that will be offered under this program is the Polo Trendline variant. 200 units of the hatchback, through Zoomcar's ZAP Subscribe model, will be offered in some of the key cities in India which include Mumbai, Delhi, Pune, Bangalore and Hyderabad. Also, VW's 4EVER Care which includes customized financial, maintenance and repair services will be available on this subscription model.

The company mentions that consumers are gradually moving towards shared mobility and it is expected that India will be leading the shared mobility business by the year 2030. This is likely to occur owing to the country's growing skilled workforce followed by increasing urbanization, rise in living standards and enhanced disposable income that have been significant growth drivers of this sector.  "Through this partnership with Zoomcar, Volkswagen India enters into shared mobility and subscription services. As a brand, world over, we intend to transform the mobility sector by participating in various business models that drive growth, offer convenience and heightened customer satisfaction. We're delighted to offer our best-selling carline – Volkswagen Polo through this channel, which enables prospective customers the accessibility to a premium, safe and fun-to-drive hatch." commented, Steffen Knapp, Managing Director, Volkswagen Passenger Cars.

The minimum subscription tenure for this program is six months while the maximum can be stretched to 36 months (3 years). Unlike in the process of buying a car, in the subscription model,  there is no downpayment but a subscription fee that has to be paid every month. Additionally, the insurance and maintenance of the vehicle is taken care by the company. Further, after the stipulated period of subscription is over, there is also an option of buying the vehicle from Zoomcar.  Volkswagen India will be offering more cars from its portfolio in the ZAP program