Volkswagen has announced that the company be launching the all new Beetle in India along with the Tiguan SUV, Passat and a sub 4-metre version of the Vento.
VW has plans to penetrate the highly popular sub 4 metre sedan segment in India to compete with cars like the Honda Amaze, Hyundai Xcent, Tata Zest, the all mightY Swift Dzire and the soon to arrive Ford Figo Aspire. The car they have lined up for the Indian market is a sub 4 metre compact version of their Vento sedan. The engine specifications we reckon will remain similar to the VW line up in the range.
Volkswagen’s 1.2 litre MPI petrol engine is for sure for going to be present in the compact Vento along with the 1.5 litre TDI diesel engine also on offer. Whether the DSG automatic transmission will be provided on the compact Vento is still not confirmed. But competitors like the Ford Figo Aspire is confirmed to be arriving with a dual clutch automatic transmission for their 1.2 litre petrol engine and Maruti is also hinting on an AMT version of the Dzire, therefore, if the compact Vento will feature their DSG is yet to be seen.
In the premium market, Volkswagen has even bigger plans for India. Michael Mayer, Director, Volkswagen Passenger Cars, Volkswagen Group Sales India Pvt. Ltd. said that over the next 24 months, the company plans to bring 5 cars into India. With the updated Vento already launched and the sub 4-metre Vento on its way into the compact sedan market, Mayer said that the Beetle, Tiguan, and the Passat are on its way to India.
The Passat is a sedan for the premium executive market in India. The Passat was premiered globally very recently and will compete with cars like the Toyota Camry in the Executive Sedan category which has already received a high demand due to its hybrid variant.
Once again, the iconic Beetle will make its way into India with its cutesy looks and its historic lineage attached to it. The Beetle will not be the “people’s car” that it was initially meant from back when it was developed. The Beetle will sit in a premium price bracket similar to the British/German equivalent MINI and the upcoming Fiat 595 cinquecento Abarth from Italy. Expect prices to be around Rs. 25 lakh upwards for the Beetle.
For a long time VW has had a hole in its model line up when it came to SUVs. The Touareg wasn’t much of a success in India with its Rs.50 lakh price tag. This time however, Volkswagen will bring a more humble smaller SUV and build its way up. The all new VW Tiguan SUV will make its global debut later this year at the Frankfurt Motorshow. The SUV will not compete with the crossovers or the compact SUVs in the market. The Tiguan, as mentioned by Mayer will be priced “premiumly” which we expect as it is based on the Audi Q3 platform, to be priced around the same or just slightly below.
The compact Vento, the Passat, the Tiguan and the Beetle will come to India in the next 24 months so expect the Volkswagen line up to be full filled by June 2017.
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