Volkswagen likely to exit the sub-4m sedan segment in India
German car manufacturer Volkswagen is likely to leave the sub-4m sedan segment as it could be discontinuing its sub-4m sedan, the Ameo due to drop in demand. Launched in 2016, the Volkswagen Ameo was exclusively tailored to fit in the Indian market for the customers to reap tax benefits. In an interview last year, Gurpratap Boparai, head of Volkswagen Group India had mentioned, "We will not do any products like the Ameo. The Sub-four metre sedan is a very, very tricky product. It works only when the hatch that it's based on, is significantly below four metres (in length), otherwise, the aesthetics of the car won't work"
Saying that, Volkswagen India would not be leaving the sub-4m space. It is already known that Volkswagen is planning to launch four in the coming years, T-Roc, Tiguan Allspace, Toureg, T-Cross. In an interview last year, Steffen Knapp, Director, Volkswagen Passenger Cars, a division of VW Group Sales India Pvt. Ltd had mentioned, "We will transform Volkswagen into an SUV brand in India." Building further on that, in a statement issued by Knapp, he had said, "We will showcase our new brand philosophy and strategy for India 2.0 as well as three of our new SUV offerings at the Auto Expo 2020.
He had also added, "The first ones of these will be launched in the second quarter of next year and our smallest SUV, nicknamed A0 SUV, will be rolled out in 2021". While there were no details on this smallest SUV except for a name, we believe it will be a sub-4 offering to take on the likes of the Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza, Mahindra XIV300, Ford EcoSport, Hyundai Venue and also the Tata Nexon along with the upcoming SUV from Kia Motors. We believe the production version of the Vollswagen sub-4M SUV will be showcased at the 2020 Auto Expo.
Skoda India and Volkswagen Group India have established a new technology center at it's production facility in Chakan, Pune. The center is a major development in it's India 2.0 plan which aims to Garner five per cent market share in India. This center is part of the EUR 250 million the group will invest in R and D for the Skoda led 2.0 plan. The first project being taken up here is the development of the India-specific MQB A0 IN. The 250 Indian engineers employed at this center will work on project management, electronics, infotainment, body design, interior, chassis and complete vehicle.
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