[blue_pulsar]

Originally Posted by volkman10

"The decision on introduction of the UP! car in India and China has not yet been made. We have to wait and watch. We have to see how the market in India develops, but it will not grow as fast as China," Winterkorn said."

Ready to invest more in India, policies must be consistent: Volkswagen

Second bad move by VW India in this week. First, the Vento Comfortline without ABS and Airbags. This is the second one. Not launching a budget hatch in India is a bad mistake. Any reasons you guys can think of?

[RavenAvi]

Originally Posted by suhaas307

Volkswagen had announced that the Up! has been scrapped, and will no longer be in the pipeline for the Indian Market. A little disappointing. Was really looking forward to experiencing the little hatch. It would have been quite fun, with those short overhangs, and VW cars' trademark driving dynamics and driving characteristics.

We need a small and compact, yet stable and composed hatchback. The Up! would have given the Brio a run for its money, me thinks. And would have definitely dented the sales of the Micra/Pulse.

I can't seem to find a link that suggests that they've dropped the plans. A reliable source had mentioned it to me.

Here you go, my friend -

Volkswagen puts small-car plan on the back burner

Volkswagen Up! India launch postponed by three years?

Jurgen Stackmann, board member and director of sales and marketing, SkodaAuto, said, “We are interested in the segment. We are analysing the segment in our way and we have not found a conclusion to that. We are not going to be in the lower part of the industry, this is pretty clear. The Volkswagen group cannot enter the lowest part of the industry.”

Seems like neither the VW Up! nor the Skoda Citigo will be coming to India anytime soon. Disappointing news for potential prospects of both cars. I was planning to get one for my Dad, but now I have to look elsewhere.

[vb-saan]

Originally Posted by suhaas307

Volkswagen had announced that the Up! has been scrapped, and will no longer be in the pipeline for the Indian Market. A little disappointing. Was really looking forward to experiencing the little hatch. It would have been quite fun, with those short overhangs, and VW cars' trademark driving dynamics and driving characteristics.

Well, the Up! even though is a small car, is expected to be quite packed on equipment and quality. Which means VW will not be able to have many gains in price advantage. The top-variant of Up! is expected to be priced in the Polo category. I will not be surprised if VW decide to bring in an India specific small car, which probably may have cheaper manufacturing cost than the Up!

[joslicx]

Originally Posted by RavenAvi

Seems like neither the VW Up! nor the Skoda Citigo will be coming to India anytime soon. Disappointing news for potential prospects of both cars. I was planning to get one for my Dad, but now I have to look elsewhere.

Yes its disappointing. I was also so much looking forward to it. VW design language is so amazing. The Up looks so much better than any other car in its class.

Since you already have an Honda at home and are happy with it, why dont you go for the Brio for your dad? It is quite a competent car, oozes class and has the badge as well. Only grudge is it lacks the Automatic which would have made life so much simpler on the road for your dad.

[RavenAvi]

Originally Posted by vb-san

Well, the Up! even though is a small car, is expected to be quite packed on equipment and quality. Which means VW will not be able to have many gains in price advantage. The top-variant of Up! is expected to be priced in the Polo category. I will not be surprised if VW decide to bring in an India specific small car, which probably may have cheaper manufacturing cost than the Up!

I don't think VW will be able to keep costs down for the Up!, and for the top variants to knock into Polo territory could cause a serious dent in either car's sales figures. No, they will have to go the localisation route and think of a small car in terms of the Eon, if and when they decide to go this route. But for now I think VW is pretty satisfied.

Originally Posted by joslicx

Yes its disappointing. I was also so much looking forward to it. VW design language is so amazing. The Up looks so much better than any other car in its class.

Since you already have an Honda at home and are happy with it, why dont you go for the Brio for your dad? It is quite a competent car, oozes class and has the badge as well. Only grudge is it lacks the Automatic which would have made life so much simpler on the road for your dad.

Well, he's 65 years old and his reflexes are slowing. His vision isn't improving either. A small in-city pottering car would be great for him and the Brio is a good choice. Thing is, he won't be too comfortable driving a Honda powered by a 1.2L iVTEC, not to mention it's a bit flashy for his tastes (and that tacky Brio rear). I know he will prefer something on the lines of the Up! - small capacity engine, good on FE, performing best at speeds of 40-45 kph, and looking sober and dignified as well. The Up! ticked all these boxes for him. Oh well.

[volkman10]

VW plans low-cost car brand for emerging markets, report says. Clearly suggests UP may not be a low cost car!

"In India we build the Vento and a local version of the Polo that only costs around 7,000 euros ($9,300).
In China we're planning a more affordably priced car in the size of a Seat Toledo," Hackenberg said in the interview

There is a market segment between 5,000 and 7,000 euros, which is a real challenge," he added.

The trick is finding the right amount of content to take out of the car to make it affordable, he said.
"Here you really have to closely look at what can be done away with, but those cars would not be sold under the name Volkswagen, more as their own brand."

http://www.autonews.com/article/2012...#ixzz1poERe8GR

[prasadnair]

Originally Posted by ajay_satpute

Nice scoop! However, I don't think VW will launch a 2-door version in India, whenever it happens. Also, I am wondering who was it first, Honda or VW to have this rear design? The integrated rear glass-hatch design is almost a rip-off in either the Brio or the Up.

i think it was Volvo but look at the glass area and rear visibility it has more to do with safety than style

[Ricci]

Originally Posted by prasadnair

i think it was Volvo but look at the glass area and rear visibility it has more to do with safety than style

The Maruti 800 , the very first model in 1984-85 with the level bonnet also had a full glass hatch , didn't it ?

The Volvo is a different breed though, and the glass part is recessed unlike the Brio , so an impact would be transferred to the metal shell though with less contact area. I neither liked the rear end styling of the Brio , and the glass area being an SUV/truck bumper height means in the even of an rear-end collision, the lack of metal might be reduced safety margin for the rear bench passengers.

[volkman10]

Volkswagen’s smallest car ever has definitely won the hearts of all people across the globe. But now it has finally made it large.
The VW UP! has nabbed the World Car of the Year at the ongoing New York Expo. It managed to beat 34 models for the title which included the likes of the new BMW 3 Series and Porsche 911.
The World Car of the Year is voted by 64 journalist from 25 countries. The diverse jury makes sure that the award is not biased depending on a particular market.
The jury was bowled over by the responsive steering, sophisticated suspension set-up, efficient engines and the quality of materials and finish of the VW UP

Volkswagen UP! wins the 2012 World Car of the Year Award

[VWdriver]

Price is not the only issue. Apparently at the time of launching VW Polo the product mix was deliberately kept heavily biased towards the treandline because so much is heard about the cost sensitivity of the Indian market and the demand for pricier variants caught VW by surprise. As for the UP, if VW decides to offer a model with the diesel-electric motor there may be a good number of takers even if its price is more than many variants of the Polo.

[joslicx]

Saw a three door white color Up! here on the street (in Sweden). The car looks sooo small!!! Its definitely smaller than my i10. But it looks so cute! Definitely the best looking small car out there. And it also exudes quality from all fronts!

Definitely would love to see this car on our streets.

[volkman10]

The 2012 World Car of the Year is now on sale in the UK market for £8,360 or Rs 7.24 lakh approximately!

The five-door Up! is similar to its three-door sibling in terms of size, features and the range of engines on offer. Apart from wearing a set of extra doors, the five-door version trades in the rear rising window line for a more conventional glass house. It also features an increased leg room space of 79.5cm and head room space of 94.7cm. The boot space meanwhile is 252 litres and can be extended to an impressive 951 litres.

For the European market, the Up! can be had in three trim levels – Take up!, Move up! and High up! besides special edition versions in the form of Up! Black and Up! White. Under the hood, the car gets a 1-litre, 3-cylinder petrol engine offered to produce 60PS and 75PS of max power. There’s also a BlueMotion version on offer which claims up to 28kmpl of fuel economy!

The five-door Up! will also be launched here in India but not before 2013. The biggest challenge for Volkswagen India would be to get the manufacturing cost down in order to place the car below the Polo. And for that VW might have to heavily localise the India-spec Up!

5-door version of the Volkswagen Up! launched in UK | Latest Autos & Car News | OnCars.in

[volkman10]

A VW Up! driven by German driver Ronny Wechselberger has entered the Guinness book of world records for successfully executing the tightest parallel parking.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lOjjB...layer_embedded

[Omtoatom]

Originally Posted by volkman10

A VW Up! driven by German driver Ronny Wechselberger has entered the Guinness book of world records for successfully executing the tightest parallel parking.

What a pity that VW has decided to put the Up! project in India on hold. A lot of folks in our country would've bought the Up! simply because of its ability to do just that i.e. slot itself into the tightest of parking spaces. Given most of us have resigned ourselves to parking in the tightest slots in our own apartments/buildings, this quality certainly would've come as a boon to many

[sujay bhandare]

Spotted a Volkswagen UP on NH4 highway with red trade plate.
May be VW is planning to launch this in our market.
But will a 2-door vehicle be hit in our budget hatchback segment?