We Indians love compact-affordable sedans and the car makers like Maruti, Honda, Tata etc has already present with their respective vehicles in the segment. The German car maker, Volkswagen has been depending solely on the Polo and Vento and sales figures of both these aren’t close to what they had expected. However, the company is now developing a compact sedan for India based on Polo Hatchback.
Volkswagen could launch “Bora/Derby” (speculative) next year might be at 2016 Auto Expo and will be served against the potent competitors such as segment leader Maruti Suzuki Dzire, Tata Zest, Honda Amaze, Hyundai Xcent and Upcoming Ford Aspire. On asking about price of the car, Mr. Thierry Lespiaucq, Managing Director, Volkswagen revealed that the price won’t be less than Rs. 5 lakh.
The statement indicates that the car will be positioned at premium space as compared to the competitors; Volkswagen doesn’t want to compromise on its brand value against volumes.
Volkswagen compact sedan will be based on PQ25 platform and feature a chopped boot that will be heavily localized in VW’s Chakan Plant, Pune. The compact sedan is likely to get 1.2L Petrol and 1.5L diesel engines to avail tax benefits and to be paired with 5-speed manual at the initial stage followed by 7-speed DSG gearbox at a later stage.
The new car will be developed ‘in and for’ Indian market specifically and will be tailored to the Indian road conditions. The new compact sedan will have its individual visual appeal and come with more features than its rivals. With the introduction of compact sedan, VW is eyeing to post an impressive growth in India in coming years.
Apart from compact sedan, VW will be launching several other cars in next 24 months such as new Passat, Beetle and bigger SUV most probably the Tiguan. The company has sold only 45,000 units in last fiscal but confident of better performance in 2015.
Volkswagen Managing Director Thierry Lespiaucq said, “It will be a compact Sedan and compatible with Indian conditions. The rollout will be most likely during next year”.
