PUNE: The new German Consul General in Mumbai, Dr. Leopold-Theodor Heldman today visited the Volkswagen India Chakan plant, which is one of the most modern plants of the Volkswagen Group worldwide. This was his first visit to the plant where he was welcomed by Mr. Joerg Mueller, Volkswagen Group Chief Representative India and President & Managing Director, Volkswagen India Private Limited.
Commenting on the occasion, Joerg Mueller said, “It is a great honour for us that the first visit of Dr. Leopold-Theodor Heldman to Pune, the hometown of Volkswagen India, has brought him to the Volkswagen Chakan plant. We are proud to showcase our state-of-the-art factory and to give him a preview of the Vento, the premium compact class sedan of Volkswagen which is our latest model and which is being produced at the plant since the past two weeks.”
The Volkswagen Vento is the 3rd car model to be produced at the Volkswagen Chakan Plant. The 1st car model to be produced was Skoda Fabia in May 2009 followed by the Volkswagen Polo in December 2009. “Volkswagen as a Group has stringent quality policies world over and we follow the same level of quality assurance in the Chakan plant as well. Since start of production some 15 months ago we are working in line with our production plans. The production at the plant is nowadays done by over 2000 employees working in 2 shifts," continued Mr. Mueller.
The Pune plant is one of 61 plants of the Volkswagen Group worldwide and covers all stages in the production process from press shop through body shop and paint shop to final assembly. It has a maximum annual capacity of 110,000 vehicles. Volkswagen plans to employ some 2,500 people locally by the end of 2010.
The Pune plant is a key element in Volkswagen’s India strategy. The scale of investment, commissioning local suppliers and employing people primarily from the region itself demonstrate Volkswagen’s commitment to India. Volkswagen is making an important contribution to the economic development in the region and in the Indian economy in general. With a total financial commitment amounting to Rs. 3,800 crores (580 million Euros), the Volkswagen plant in Pune is the largest investment to date by a German company in India.
ABOUT VOLKSWAGEN GROUP INDIA. With its headquarters in Pune, Maharashtra, the Volkswagen Group is represented by three brands in India: Volkswagen, Audi and Skoda. The Volkswagen Group is completing 10 years of its India journey which began with the entry of the Skoda brand in 2001, Audi brand and Volkswagen brand in 2007. Each brand has its own character and operates as an independent entity in the market. With 18 models in India and more than 120 dealerships, Volkswagen Group India is all set to capture the Indian market with the inauguration of the Pune plant which has an investment of Rs 3,800 crore (580 million Euros) and a production capacity of 110,000 cars annually.
Volkswagen India Group is a part of Volkswagen AG, which is globally represented by 9 brands- Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, Scania, Seat, Skoda, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles (Volkswagen Nutzfahrzeuge) and Volkswagen Passenger Cars.