New Delhi: Volkswagen is looking to make a new move in the Indian market with its new compact SUV. The German automaker thinks that it can tap into the booming sub-4-metre SUV market in India to attract more buyers to its sales.
Currently, Volkswagen is not widely available in India with their main offering by including models like Taigun and Virtus. Volkswagen has sold slightly more than 39,000 cars in India, accounting for the less than 1% of the market share. So Volkswagen now wants to extend their footprint and go more deeper into other segments and to reach a more dominant position in a mass market.
The new compact SUV will be Volkswagen’s first sub-4-metre SUV in India. The model is anticipated to go on sale in 2027 and its production will be local. It will be part of the MQB-A0-IN platform that is utilised by the Skoda Kylaq. This platform has already been tweaked to suit Indian requirements and assists the company in maintaining their production costs.
The move is significant as SUVs have emerged as one of the major shares of India’s passenger car market. More than half of the nation’s passenger vehicle sales are now for SUVs. This sub-4-metre segment is about 28% of the vehicle segment market, and it’s a vital one for any carmaker seeking greater volumes.
Even though both Volkswagen and Skoda belong to the similar group, but Volkswagen will try to distinguish its latest SUV from Skoda’s. The firm also desires the Volkswagen model to be independently which is specially designed and branded with an identity of its own, so it can going to appeal to those more interested in the German brand.
The success of the Skoda Kylaq has also shown the potential of this segment. The Kylaq accounted for more than 60% of the Kyoda’s record sales of over 72,600 vehicles in India last year. At the same time, Volkswagen will be hoping its own compact SUV could attain such success.
As India’s carmakers monitor the country as a potential growth market, Volkswagen is mulling plans for the Indian market. The company is also exploring broader transformation in its India operations with talks for a potential joint venture to share the risk of investment and support future growth.
Volkswagen is aiming to expand its current limited range of vehicles and tap into a wider audience of Indians with the new compact SUV. The company is hoping that a locally-built smaller and less expensive SUV can prove to be a crucial product for its future growth in India.
