Audi India to locally assemble 2.0L TDI engine by year end

In September last year, it was learnt that Audi was considering the local assembly of certain engines in India. Moneycontrol now confirms that the 2.0L TDI engine that is used in several Volkswagen group vehicles, will be locally assembled in India by the end of 2016.

As per an official communication from a Volkswagen spokesperson, "Volkswagen India plans to start assembling the 2.0 litre engine at the Pune plant towards the end of 2016. There is a single assembly line that will be set up for the new 2.0 litre engine.”

Through partner Force Motors, both Mercedes-Benz and BMW have been locally assembling engines in India to speed up production and reduce costs. Though the investment made for the assembly line has not been specified, the 2.0L engine will be used in a range of Audi, Volkswagen and Skoda vehicles including the Audi A4, Audi A6, VW Passat, VW Jetta, VW Tiguan, Skoda Superb, Skoda Octavia and even the VisionS concept-based Kodiak (name unconfirmed). The move could reduce Audi's import duty bill by 10 - 30% and while it will help Audi price its car more competitively, the company also stands to gain in margins per vehicle.

The local assembly should also help drop waiting periods for not just cars, but spare parts as well. The transmission and gearbox though, will continue to be imported.