Volkswagen, the German automaker, after the success of its first hatchback, 'Polo', has plans to compete in the smaller car segment too. The company's over-all sales in India have not been very impressive and pricing might have been a reason behind it. It has no models currently available to compete in the smaller segment with cars such as Maruti Alto K10, Hyundai i10, Chevrolet Beat etc. The new Volkswagen Up! will be the manufacturer's entry level car in the Indian automobile market. The car was spotted last year, just before the Auto Expo at New Delhi in January 2012 and was expected to be showcased there. But surprisingly, this did not happen; it seems that the manufacturer wanted to analyse the market demand and the car's specifications again before its launch.
Recently, the car has been spotted again but in three-door and five-door versions. The VW Up! hatchback is expected to be powered by a small 1-litre petrol engine and may also come with 1.2 litre Tdi diesel engine from Fabia or Polo, producing 75 bhp of power and a torque of 180 Nm. It is revealed that the five-door version is equipped with a manual transmission system, whereas the three-door version boasts of an automatic transmission system. The three-door version doesn't seem to be fit for the Indian market, and is only under testing to see how it performs on Indian tracks. As per the information, Volkswagen has not clarified its plans and may consider the option and will decide probably by the end of the year.
According to sources who spotted the car, Volkwagen Up! in India is a right hand drive car. The vehicle's pictures reveal its premium interiors, which may be far better than the other entry level cars in India. The car will pose straight competition to Maruti A-Star, Honda Brio and Hyundai i10. The pricing may be another major deciding factor and to keep an aggressive price, the manufacturer has to rely heavily on localizing the components of the car.
There are major feature differences between the Indian European versions of the car. The Up! spotted in India doesn't have power windows, the LCD display on the dashboard is also not available and the steering is also changed. There will be no blue motion technology on the Indian version. The vehicle has a three-cylinder petrol engine with an output of 59 bhp on base models and 74 bhp on higher range models. Both engines are coupled with a five speed manual gearbox. For the Indian market, the company may also come up with a 1.2-liter TDi diesel engine of Fabia and Polo. The manufacturer has an all-electric variant of the car as well, for city car buyers in Europe. Though Volkswagen Up! is a small hatchback, it offers ample interior and boot space.
The expected price of the car is about Rs. 3.5 lacs (ex-showroom, New Delhi). The company expects a major rise in its sales figures with the Up!'s launch in India and this will possibly affect the sales of Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai in a significant manner.
