Even as Skoda Auto made its debut in the domestic market, six years before Volkswagen, which commenced its operations locally in 2007, the former recently realised that the pre-existence has not actually bore any fruit for the company. It is because Volkswagen India is currently claiming monthly sales that count four times that of Skoda India, the Indian subsidiary of Skoda Auto. Another fact that makes the current news more interesting is that despite high priced Volkswagen models, as against Skoda cars, the former has lagged behind.
Abdul Majeed, Practice Leader at PwC India, commented on the current trend that favours Volkswagen, by saying, “Volkswagen has been launching new models and updating existing ones very regularly and that has helped. It depends on what benefits customers see in these launches and they like the look of their cars. They have also spent a lot on marketing.”
It is important to note that in 2009, however, things were still under Skoda's control as it maintained a lead during the year, but with the launch of Polo and Vento, Skoda started losing its grip within an year. By 2010, Volkswagen outperformed its Czech counterpart by registering a sales that exceeded by 10,000 units. Moreover, the unprecedented market domination of sedan Vento and hatchback Polo has worked wonders for Volkswagen, to which Skoda acts like a mere spectator. The Polo hatchback and Vento, cumulatively, accounted for 92 per cent of sales in the month of September. However, speculations are rife that the new Fabia-based sedan, built to lock horns with Vento, is expected by mid-November.
While the current Skoda Fabia is in competition with the Polo, the Superb takes it on the battle against Passat. Moreover, Skoda Laura has a close rival in the form of Volkswagen Jetta. As a matter of fact, almost all Skoda models share platforms with Volkswagen, but none of them currently manages to overpower the rising strengths of the German car maker. Hence, it is clear that likewise the developed European markets, Indian customers too, are inclined towards Volkswagen's positioning as a 'premium, innovative brand'.
Neeraj Garg, Member of Board and Director, Passenger Cars, Volkswagen Group Sales India commented on the exemplary performance of the company by saying, “People have accepted our price value proposition and that balance was fantastic. Our volume products (Polo and Vento) got accepted in the market well. We did big spending on innovative marketing campaigns and had a clear strategy in communication.”
Another step that ensured the German car maker, to break free from the chains and emerge victorious was the expansion spree, within which, its dealership network grew at a very fast pace. As per records, a new dealer was appointed every 10 to 12 days over the last three years. Volkswagen currently has 80 dealerships under its belt and is expected to extend the same in the coming time.
Thus, Volkswagen would not want to lose on what it has achieved and is expected to thrive in the future, in order to overtake other big names in the Auto market.
