Volkswagen’s compact sedan plan has been in the pipeline for a while. The new compact sedan has been designed and developed for the Indian car market. This new model will be added to the company’s product portfolio as the German automaker will be showcasing this new compact sedan at the 2016 Auto Expo.
Volkswagen compact sedan
The production of the compact sedan at Volkswagen’s Chakan Pune Plant is scheduled to commence in first half of 2016. India is an important market for Volkswagen and it has injected INR 720 crores towards the development of this new compact sedan. The investment has happened in the Chakan plant towards the development of the product, setting up new equipment and even increasing the company’s current production as well.
“We are following a long term investment plan in India and with our latest investment we have reaffirmed our confidence in this growing automotive market”, said Dr. Andreas Lauermann, President and Managing Director, Volkswagen India Private Limited. Mr. Michael Mayer, Director, Volkswagen Passenger Cars India added: “With our new compact sedan, we will focus intensively on the specific requirements of our Indian customers.”
This is a part of the Rs 1,500 crore investment that was announced by Volkswagen India at the beginning of 2014. Dr. Lauermann added, “This is the second step of investment after the Engine Assembly Plant a year ago. Additionally, we will continue to invest further in increasing our productivity and efficiency.”
The plant will start producing the new India-specific Volkswagen car from the first half of 2016 and its world-premiere is scheduled at the AutoExpo in February 2016. This new compact sedan will be competing with the Maruti DZire, Tata Zest, Hyundai XCent and the Honda Amaze.
