As Volkswagen and Suzuki are standing against each other in the court over the disintegration of their partnership, their operations in India also seem to collide into each other. The face-off between the two leading car makers has intensified in India, with Volkswagen preparing to give a tough time to the Japanese company in the coming time.
According to reports, the German auto giant has made short work of the required production for its small car Up, and thus, will launch it much sooner. As a matter of fact, the Volkswagen Up will be the smallest car ever produced, for India, by the car maker and is likely to be priced between Rs. 3 lacs and Rs. 4 lacs. With the compact car being placed below Polo in terms of price, Volkswagen is possibly competing directly against the likes of Maruti Suzuki's A-Star.
Even Skoda Auto, the wholly owned subsidiary of Volkswagen, has confirmed to take on Maruti with its Citigo that will roll out in India soon. If sources are to be believed, Citigo is likely to be a rebadged version of the Volkswagen Up. However, with a possible price tag of Rs. 2.5 lacs to Rs. 3.5 lacs, the car would be positioned against Maruti Alto K10.
While Volkswagen chalks out effective plans to compete with Suzuki, the latter does not wish to become a soft target. Therefore, it is all set to strike a deal with Fiat to source diesel engines within the next two months.
This will help Suzuki to recuperate from the loss it bore, owing to the unrest at its Manesar plant, by attaining the maximum production capacity. As a matter of fact, the availability of diesel engines to be used for the Swift and Swift Dzire is not satisfactory following the disturbance at the plant. Maruti Suzuki aims to hike the Swift production to around 20,000 units a month.
Thus it seems that along with the legal fight, the two manufacturers are making every possible effort to tap the high-growth areas of the Indian auto market, in a way that takes one ahead of the other.
