The German auto giant, Volkswagen Group is looking ahead to launch a Utility Vehicle (UV) in the Indian auto market as a part of its portfolio expansion strategy. On the new initiative of the company, President and Managing Director of Volkswagen Group, Gerry Dorizas quoted, “Different growth segments of multi-purpose vehicles or sports utility vehicles and small cars are the part of vision we have (for India). We have to take small strides.”
The move taken by Volkswagen can be related to the success achieved by the Maruti Suzuki and Renault that managed to drive in decent volumes, following the launch of their UVs in the India auto industry. Experts believe that the SUV segment of Indian market is growing at a fast pace, at the time when the demand for cars in other segments is dwindling.
Analysts speculate that Volkswagen will cash on its premium SUV 'Tiguan' whose underpinnings are similar with the newly introduced Audi Q3. Besides, the auto major has exhibited a number of UVs in the global arena, including 'Volkswagen space up! Concept' and 'Bulli Concept', which may also route in the Indian auto industry to efficiently square off against the likes of Renault Duster, upcoming Ford EcoSport and Maruti Ertiga.
In India, the auto maker is appreciated for its two iconic models, Polo hatchback and Vento sedan, which have performed fairly well in the market. Irrespective of the fact that the sales of auto maker two folded in 2010 and 2011, the volumes driven by Volkswagen in the first six months of 2012 witnessed a dip of 3.4 per cent.
Addressing the future plans of Volkswagen, Dorizas further added, “I have total trust on the management and our board of directors, I think they have a listening head, but we are still in discussion, we are still creating plans. There are a lot of things, which are under development, I think there will be a time when we would be able to share that with you. Pressure on the margins is an on going thing. It is all changing, we all have to be in touch with changes, we told our dealers, we are team, we have to go all the way and discuss with them in a difficult market condition and adapt ourselves to changes.”
