[aniketi]

Simple strategy for VW: Just make thousands of cars in India and export them to all over world. Make some good profits & be happy. If some cars are sold in India, it's a bonus

[dingolphie]

http://in.reuters.com/article/2015/0...0P319220150623

Reuters article also says that VW will be improving their line up in India. I am especially curious about the 'feature rich' sub compact focus. Will we see a welcome VW presence in the compact SUV/crossover segment in 2016?

I'm also eager to see how they scale up their dealership and Servicing networks.

[Bhodrolok]

No compact SUV at least in the next couple of years. It was clearly announced yesterday, the new launches would be Compact Sedan, Beetle, Tiguain and Passat.

Originally Posted by dingolphie

I am especially curious about the 'feature rich' sub compact focus. Will we see a welcome VW presence in the compact SUV/crossover segment in 2016?

.

[2cents]

Some interesting tips from the horse's mouth..

Source The Hindu


“India is an important market for Volkswagen. In the next 24 months we plan to launch five products,” Volkswagen Passenger Cars Director Michael Mayer said at a press conference, adding that the company plans to enter new car segments as well.

Besides launching a sub-4 meter compact sedan next year, the company plans to bring in the iconic Beetle. Volkswagen will launch 8th generation of its sedan Passat and Tiguan.

I wonder what the 5th one is!!

[amit]

Originally Posted by 2cents

Besides launching a sub-4 meter compact sedan next year, the company plans to bring in the iconic Beetle. Volkswagen will launch 8th generation of its sedan Passat and Tiguan.

Off all these only the sub 4 meter sedan has a real chance of being a success IF it can fight the fierce competition.

The Passat can succeed but VW will be forced to price it over the Superb to keep their 'premium' image intact and we all know how things will play out once that is done.

Tiguan can work too but all depends on the pricing. If VW launch it around 25L then anyone would pay a few lakhs more for the bigger & more reliable Fortuner.

[Bhodrolok]

The one launched yesterday - The New Vento

Originally Posted by 2cents

[/i]I wonder what the 5th one is!!

[volkman10]

India-bound Volkswagen Tiguan to arrive mid-2016

The VW Tiguan will be locally assembled and will compete with the likes of the new Toyota Fortuner and Honda CR-V.

The new TIguan SUV will be previewed at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September 2015, And for the first time, will be made available in a 5-seat and 7-seat configuration.

For India, VW will bring the 7-seat version to rival the likes of the Honda CR-V, Mitsubishi Pajero Sport, Chevrolet Trailblazer and the new Toyota Fortuner. The India-bound Tiguan will be locally assembled to keep prices competitive. It is likely to be powered by the new Passat’s 187bhp 2.0-litre diesel engine.

http://www.autocarindia.com/auto-new...16-396139.aspx

[pranjal1984]

Only if they back up their great vehicles with competent and affordable after sales will Volkswagen make some impact in the automobile market. Their spares are grossly expensive and their dealers love to overcharge the customers. Case in point is the Guwahati dealer. It is the only dealer in North East India can you believe it for seven states and their monopolistic practices are well known.VW make your spares affordable and keep your dealers under check.

[Aditya]

The Volkswagen Polo GTI has been spotted testing in India.

Join the discussion in this thread.

[vivekz]

VW has become the largest auto company in the world in 2015.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/...w/48247660.cms

I think India will be a key market for either players, more for VW to make a decisive move towards no.1 slot. However, apart from launching halo products (GTI) or plans for Tiguan and new Jetta, I do not see any volume driven plan in place for the brand. Even the new Polo is rumoured to arrive only in 2020 in India when it is expected to launch globally in 2016! A complete misread of Indian market I think.

[wilful]

Looking at the excitement/interest/bookings created by the newly launched Creta and the about to be launched SCross one is really puzzled why the largest auto company (now supposedly more interested in the Indian market) is not getting into the act. Pity the Taigun is shelved - I'm sure it would have sent shivers (of different kinds) down the spine of rivals and potential customers.
But I fear for all the talk of interest in India, their attention is on China.

[pmbdcoe]

Originally Posted by vb-san

Time and again, Indian market has proved to a tough terrain for many auto manufacturers. Maruti-Suzuki is the long-established people’s choice and brands like Hyundai and Toyota caught in with some intelligent strategies, albeit very different. Skoda came in by offering something different and refreshing with the Octavia, but couldn’t sustain the momentum. Renault struck gold with the Duster, and after so many years in the Indian market, Ford has started seeing good success with the Figo earlier, and now with the Ecosport.

One problem with the VW cars just from the perspective of an end user is, VW seems to be very conservative with the exterior designing of the cars. What I mean is, we have the Polo, and add a trunk to it, it becomes a Vento, Extrapolate the Vento a bit and you get the Jetta, and extrapolate the Jetta a bit and you get the Passat. I am just talking about the esterior design here. I am not referring to stuff under the hood, or how the interiors are, though Current Jetta and Vento at least have quite similar interiors. However coming back to the point, for all other car brands, a shift in segment is distinctly observable with the design, not just by increasing the size. Otherwise imagine a camry that looks like a bigger version of the etios. Would their be any takers?(not that their are a lot now), but whatever limited sales the camry enjoys, even that would not have been there. Or an accord that looks like an enlarged Amaze, cant even imagine how ugly that might be. So eventually the point I am trying to make is VW should put some thought behind the design of the vehicle when the vehicle moves up to an upper segment. While polo and Vento undoubtedly are good products, from the point of view of indian consumer, somehow we are more in love with creature comforts than with whats under the hood, or whats their in the car to keep me safe, at lease in the premium hatch and entry level sedan segment, where most of the buyer demographics are young couple professionals, who self drive the car, go on dates and stuff, and hence funkiness and creature comfort holds paramount importance to them. And guess who has got that bang on, Hyundai. Look at the grand i20 elite. A heavily under powered car, but then who cares, its funky looking, comes loaded with comforts as can be available at its price, and hence appeals to its target audience. Swift too is not far behind, and to complement all this, both of them boast of low maintenance and fantastic after sales service network gives them the perfect recipe for success.

[pranjal1984]

Today I was casually browsing the Facebook page of Volkswagen India https://www.facebook.com/Volkswagenindia
However I was astonished to see the sheer number of disgruntled owners who vented their anger at the Company for not taking action against errant workshops. Take a look at the above page in the replies and comments for every post and judge for yourself.

[RavenAvi]

The India-bound 2016 Volkswagen Tiguan has been spotted for the first time doing testing rounds in the Alps.

The heavy disguise on these LHD and RHD test prototypes makes the new Tiguan look like a smaller Touareg, but Volkswagen Australia managing director John White has promised it will look "phenomenal" after being "totally redesigned."

A previous report stated the new Tiguan will be stretched by 2.2 inches (5.5 cm) and will benefit from a shorter front overhang.

Volkswagen has already confirmed a roomier derivative with an extended wheelbase hosting three rows, capable of seating up to seven people. It will enter production late 2016 at the factory in Puebla, Mexico.

It is believed this version will be 7.9 inches (20 cm) longer than the standard model.

WorldCarFans

[RavenAvi]

A spy video of the Volkswagen Tiguan on it's testing run in the Alps:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPhkmWuorj4