Saar: It is part of what the company is internally floating as ‘India 2.0 Project’.

Volkswagen has been in India for over a decade now. Though it has barely nudged the market leaders, the German carmaker has learnt a lot, probably! It is now readying itself to fight back with promising products and more investments. According to a report published by MoneyControl, Volkswagen is currently working on a plan, internally tagged as ‘India 2.0 Project’. What is it about? Well, a lot. Let’s get cracking, shall we?!

Under this new plan of action, Volkswagen will start by introducing a compact SUV in the Indian market. This product will target the likes of the Hyundai Creta, Renault Duster, Honda BR-V and the upcoming Kia SP Concept SUV. This product will be based on Volkswagen’s all-new MQB A0 IN platform, which has been specifically developed for markets like India. Volkswagen has put its subsidiary, Skoda Auto, in charge to develop products using the above-mentioned platform and will then follow suit.

Steffen Knapp, the director, Volkswagen Passenger Cars India, reportedly mentioned that there is currently no plan for a sub-4 metre SUV. The company, he further added, is targeting the likes of Hyundai Creta because the segment has the highest growth potential and is also in line with its target group. “In terms of costs, Skoda has the flexibility. It is also more experienced than Volkswagen and we will jointly develop products for the Indian market,” added Knapp. That means Skoda will also have a similar product in the future, with a possibility of re-entering the hatchback segment. The Czech’s last attempt at luring Indian customers with a hatchback was with the Fabia and it didn’t really pan out well.

Next step in the above-mentioned plan of action is to invest a minimum of Rs 8,000 crore in India, spread over the next few years. For the uninitiated, Volkswagen has invested in excess of Rs 6,500 crore rupees in its Chakan plant. It has an annual production capacity of 2 lakh units. After spending so much time and money here, Volkswagen has no plans to quit India.

Will there be VW car to undercut the Polo in India? Not right now and not even under the ‘India 2.0 Project’. “India is one of the most competitive markets in the world. The A00 segment which is the sub-Polo class is very difficult to make a possible business case. And that is not our position,” answered Knapp.

Volkswagen currently has just one SUV in the Indian market – the Tiguan. Skoda, on the other hand, also has one – the Kodiaq. We are excited to see how Volkswagen tries to crawl back in the market with more competitively priced products. What do you think of this strategy?