Knapp said that for starters, diesel VW cars would be eliminated altogether from the company’s line-up of cars that presently include Passats
In an increasingly tough market, smaall volume foreign car-makers trying to boost market share face twin challenges of trying to grow sales while grappling with an auto downturn in an environment where regulation-related costs are eating into margins. Case in point: Honda Cars India saw its volumes decline by 30 per cent for October. They weren’t alone. Toyota Kirloskar Motors also saw volumes contract, albeit by a smaller 5 per cent. For the Volkswagen brand, which is led by Skoda Auto Volkswagen India, the results have been better with a 20 per cent jump in the last month’s sales. However, the next four months will determine how the next two years will pan out, according to its executives.
This October, the company sold over 3000 cars in the compact and small sedan segments which include their Polo and Vento models. Volkswagen‘s managing director Steffen Knapp said, “The group is investing heavily in the brand and related products across the group and the following months will see localisation increase from 82 per cent to 94 per cent in line with plans”
The Polo and Vento, which range in price between Rs 6 lakhs and Rs 12 lakhs and Rs 7 lakhs and Rs 14 lakhs, respectively, also account for around 50 per cent of VW’s volume. While they are competitive at the entry points their real volumes come from top-end variants that are the highest priced in the market, which begs the question – will they see even more of a price increase by the time BS VI rolls out in March, next year?
