Volkswagen to enter used car segment

Carmaker Volkswagen is planning to make a foray into used car market this year. It will start with a pilot, either in Delhi or Mumbai, and by year-end, offer the facility at 8-10 dealerships across the country. Stating this here on Tuesday, Neeraj Garg, board member, and Director, Volkswagen Passenger Cars India, said the company wanted to launch the service in Tier-I and Tier-II cities.

“Customers do not have a disciplined used car market,” he said, adding that they looked for convenience and trust. It is to fill this gap Volkswagen had decided to get into the used car market. It would deal with any car brand. “When I sell it will be after upgrading the [used] car and with a warranty,” Mr. Garg said. Volkswagen Financial Services, set up recently to finance cars, would enhance the level of convenience for customers in this segment too, he added.

On the car financing arm, he said it was unique as, apart from the repayment component, the EMI would factor in the cost of maintenance and insurance for three years for those purchasing new Volkswagen cars. While the rate of interest would be similar to those prevailing in the industry, what would set apart the financing model would be its emphasis on offering greater convenience to customers.

Mr. Garg was briefing presspersons on the launch of IPL editions of the Polo and Vento.

Volkswagen launches new Jetta at staring price tag of Rs 14.12 lakh

The largest European car maker Volkswagen has launched all new upgraded diesel variant of its popular premium sedan – Volkswagen Jetta – in the Indian market. The car carries a starting price tag of Rs 14.12 lakh (ex-showroom New Delhi).

The all new Volkswagen Jetta has been launched in four new variants including Trendline, Comfortline and highline manual and Highline DSG. The new Jetta is powered by a 2.0L four-cylinder CRDi engine. The car is available in both 6-speed manual and 6-speed automatic transmissions.

Speaking to the reporters at the launching ceremony of the car in Mumbai, Member of Board and Director, Volkswagen Passenger Cars, Volkswagen Group Sales India, Neeraj Garg said, "With the introduction of the New Jetta our entire carline from the Polo to the Passat now offers the latest and the best to our customers."

Volkswagen India has been witnessing a considerable surge in sales since last one year. While the total sales of the company stood at 32,000 units during last year, it has already sold 45,000 units of its cars in the country in last seven months.

While further elaborating the company’s expectations from newly launched Jetta, Mr. Garg said that the company has sold a good number of Volkswagen Passat and Volkswagen Jetta in the last seven months. Despite economic slowdown Volkswagen hopes this New Jetta will help to increase its market share in coming days.

2011 Volkswagen Passat @ Rs 20.80 lakhs

Earlier today, German car manufacturer, Volkswagen launched their new Passat sedan in the Indian auto market. Available in 3 options, 2011 Passat is priced between Rs 20 – 26 lakhs. Following are the prices of the 3 Passat variants;

• 2011 Passat 2.0L TDI Trendline @ Rs. 20.80 lakh

• 2011 Passat 2.0L TDI Comfortline @ Rs. 23.80 lakh

• 2011 Passat 2.0L TDI Highline (AT) @ Rs. 25.65 lakh

All the above prices are Mumbai, ex-showroom prices. To know the exact price of 2011 Volkswagen Passat in your city, give a call to the nearest Volkswagen dealer. Volkswagen has launched the new D segment sedan hoping that they can now garner some sales in the segment. Outgoing Passat variant, failed badly in the Indian auto industry.

2011 Passat’s 2.0L TDI engine is not only powerful, but also very efficient as it features the BlueMotion technology. This diesel heart generates 170 bhp of raw power and 350 Nm of torque while giving you the complete control over itself. 2011 Volkswagen Passat’s main competitor in India is Skoda Superb, ironically, VW owns Skoda Auto!

Volkswagen Polo to compete with Swift, i10

Volkswagen India (VW) will launch its first small car, the Polo, in the domestic market in the early part of 2010. The car will be priced and positioned in line with the A2 compact car category, which includes models such as Maruti’s Swift & Ritz, and be built on a new platform. The Polo will be made at the company’s new manufacturing facility at Chakan, Pune, with locally sourced auto components being about 50 per cent.

“The all-new platform for the Polo has been designed keeping Indian road conditions in mind. The Polo will be benchmarked against the market leader in this segment, which is Maruti Suzuki’s Swift. The broad positioning for the Polo would revolve around communicating Polo’s German engineering pedigree, adapted for the domestic market,” says Neeraj Garg, Director, Passenger Cars Division, of the VW Group. Garg says the wait to launch the Polo is well-timed, since by next year, car manufacturers like Nissan, Toyota and Ford would unveil their compact cars in the premium A2 segment. The Polo would be available in the petrol and the diesel engine variant.

Volkswagen’s strategy in the compact segment, according to Garg, would be launching variants of the Polo initially. “Later, we would consider launching other Volkswagen brands, as long as there’s demand in the market. We hope to sell around 30,000 units in 2010. Then, by 2014, we hope to cross the 100,000 mark, by which time the car market in India would have crossed two million units.” Garg added the VW Golf, another compact car brand, will not be launched in the country until 2010. VW sold around 1,500 units of passenger vehicles in calendar 2008, and hopes to double the amount in 2009.

Till date, Volkswagen India has invested Rs 3,800 crore in setting up its operations in India. The facility at Chakan has an annual capacity of up to 110,000 cars on a single shift. Till this production capacity is reached, said garg, there would be no more fresh investments.

On the issue of Porsche becoming a part of the Volkswagen Group, Garg said Porsche will continue to be sold as a premium luxury car. “Porsche will not lose its identity. We are brand sensitive. It ‘s too early to say how the domestic operations of Porsche will be affected by this move.”

Industry executives say the premium A2 car segment (hatchback) comprising models like the Swift and Hyundai’s i10 & i20 has grown by around 20 per cent between January to June this year, while the A1 and the entry A2 models have registered either declining sales (Maruti 800) or slower growth than the premium A2 segment.