German auto giant Volkswagen has declared to make an investment of Rs. 7.15 lakh crore globally by 2018. The news does not come as an astonishment as all the large automobile enterprises are inputting such hefty amounts to inflate their growth in coming future. Volkswagen has kept up with the trend and proposed to utilise 75 per cent of this lump-sum in making its existing cars more efficient and reliable. The pending amount will be used in developing new technologies and creating environment-friendly workspaces. Seemingly, the acute policies of the auto maker are expected to do wonders in upcoming time.
The investment scheme overall includes making the auto maker's facilities and new innovations more cost-effective. The company is inclined towards minimising its expenditure and maximising production, where chief focus will be on exclusive technologies. The car manufacturer also intends to make its profit margin double to a figure of 6 per cent, which is currently 3.5 per cent. Interestingly, Volkswagen's alliance from China is not involved in this scheme and it will independently invest an amount of Rs. 1.55 lakh crore in the same tenure. Experts are of a view that this proposal from Volkswagen will reflect its upcoming range in India as well, where the auto maker is striving to stabilise its presence.
Volkswagen is expected to launch its latest compact Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) called Tiguan at Auto Expo 2014. This car is already present in international markets and it shares attributes with Skoda Yeti. The auto maker is expected to bring this SUV via Complete Knock Down (CKD) route but speculations are rife that during the initial phase, it will be introduced as a Completely Built Unit (CBU). In both cases, Volkswagen Tiguan will be bearing a hefty price tag, believed to be in the range of Rs. 15 lakh – Rs. 20 lakh. Rumours state that this compact SUV will also be included in Volkswagen's investment scheme when it is finally available on sales in the domestic market.
The company would be expecting to publicise its product appropriately, as the compact SUV segment is currently competitive and Tiguan's price tag will directly make it a rival against the likes of Skoda Yeti and Mercedes-Benz A-Class. The investment scheme from Volkswagen comes after a similar declaration from its subsidiary Audi. The latter had recently unveiled its plan to expand its development and innovations for upcoming ranges. Experts believe that German auto makers are becoming more aggressive in their strategies and are aiming to produce superior class products in far future.
Seemingly, the rest two German auto makers namely Mercedes-Benz and BMW needs to come up with such policies as competition is expected to rise in the upcoming time. India would be witnessing the same as the abovementioned brands are desperately trying to lure domestic buyers since a long time now. Notably, Volkswagen has achieved an efficient mark in recent years by considering the demand of Indian auto market as a priority and coming up with cars which suit all genres of the society. It will be compelling to see what kind of technologies are unveiled by the company till the advent of 2018.
