Volkswagen released a YouTube teaser of its first compact sedan for the Indian market.
Volkswagen released a YouTube teaser of its first compact sedan for the Indian market. Titled ‘Guess the Name’, the company has kept its name under wraps. The new car is speculated to be either named Bora or Ameo which will be launched at the Delhi Auto Expo.
The production of the new model at its Pune plant is scheduled to commence in the first half of 2016 after an unveiling at the Auto Expo in February. The company has made a total investment of 720 crore for the new model. “We are following a long-term investment plan in India and with our latest investment we have reaffirmed our confidence in this growing automotive market,” Andreas Lauermann, president and managing director, Volkswagen India said in a company statement.
The Polo hatchback which has a short wheelbase could get a boot to fit in the under 4000mm length to avail the benefit of lower taxes. Mechanically it might be similar to the Polo hatch that include 1.2-litre MPI and TSI petrol engines and the 1.5-diesel unit. It will be interesting to see if VW adds an automatic transmission variant to the new car. Previous reports suggested that the car could revive the ‘Bora’ name in VW’s line-up.
“With our new compact sedan, we will focus intensively on the specific requirements of our Indian customers,” said Michael Mayer, Director of Volkswagen Passenger Cars India.
This new compact sedan will face rivals like the Swift Dzire, Honda Amaze, Tata Zest, Hyundai Xcent, and Ford Aspire. Volkswagen hopes the new car will drive its volumes further in the market.
With the latest investment in the new compact sedan, Volkswagen has now put in approximately Rs 5,500 crore in India at the Pune plant since it commenced operations in 2007. The manufacturing facility currently rolls out the Volkswagen Polo, Volkswagen Vento and Škoda Rapid.