Volkswagen needs no introduction. The automobile giant is the 2nd largest automobile manufacturer in world and owns some of the very known brands ranging from Bentley to Bugatti. While the Volkswagen cars are known for their build quality, their punchy engines, up-to-date tech, safety and many more reasons, Volkswagen seems to be playing their own game in India since the launch of their first product in India, the VW Jetta. Every manufacturer has been trying hard to win the Indian audience by offering premium products at a very reasonable prices. But Volkswagen hasn’t really been able to win the Indian buyers and it hasn’t been able to keep up with competition.
The most known product of the group has been the VW polo and VW gave it a new life by giving it an all new 1.0 TSI engine in 2020, but they haven’t given it any major cosmetic changes at the outside. The polo looks the same as it did almost 10 years ago when it was first launched. While its competition has launched new products at very competitive price like the new Tata Altroz, MS Baleno, Ford Freestyle and the Hyundai i20. Added the high service cost and expensive spare parts, the polo only targets a certain audience. Globally, the next generation of the polo has been unveiled, there are less or almost no indication that’s it is going to be launched in India any time soon. Indians really look forward to the polo and they do deserve a major update on it.
The VW group has been trying to step up their game by launching completely new products in India like the T-Rock and Tiguan all space. But, They have kept the pricing really aggressive. The new T-Rock starts at 19.99 lakhs which competes with Hyundai Creta, Kia Seltos, MG Hector and Tata harrier. T-Rock is the most expensive amongst its competition and doesn’t really offer much for the price. The high price is due to import taxies levied on it. The same is the case of the Tiguan all space, which starts at 33.12 lakhs, it charges high bucks but doesn’t stand in front of its competition like the Ford Endeavour, Toyota Fortuner and the Mahindra Alturas G4. Again, the reason of its high pricing is due to the import taxes. Let’s be honest here, we all know these products of the VW group aren’t going to make any headlines in terms of their sale numbers.
MY VERDICT
If VW really wants to get its hold on the Indian market, it should start manufacturing cars in India and offer better pricing. It should also offer some major updates on their entry level products i.e the Polo and the Vento. Volkswagen has a huge audience in India. Indians have given immense love to VW cars like the polo and vento and they continue to do so. VW just needs to acknowledge this love and offer the market products at reasonable prices.
Stay tuned!
The CarGuy 