Volkswagen India: The Way Forward

[Carpainter]

Well it's a good move from VW. The new 1.5L Diesel in the new polo is one of the best diesel engines in its class. They should be able to bring the import cost down. But I wonder how much of that benefit will be passed on to the customers.

[rdhawan15]

Originally Posted by Carpainter

Well it's a good move from VW. The new 1.5L Diesel in the new polo is one of the best diesel engines in its class. They should be able to bring the import cost down. But I wonder how much of that benefit will be passed on to the customers.

I think if they decide to put the saved money in building more service outlets, they will gain a lot. As of now, the issue is not the product quality. The issue is a lack of proper service infrastructure. The moment their service network expands, things will improve to a considerable extent in terms of customer satisfaction of existing customers.

[Carpainter]

Originally Posted by rdhawan15

I think if they decide to put the saved money in building more service outlets, they will gain a lot. As of now, the issue is not the product quality. The issue is a lack of proper service infrastructure. The moment their service network expands, things will improve to a considerable extent in terms of customer satisfaction of existing customers.

Yes you are right. But I think increase in number of service centers alone will not do. They will have to supply parts quicker. A regular car owner doesn't like his car to be lying in the garage for replacement of mere penny parts. Being a VW owner I know that things have improved from what it was say three years ago. But they still have a long way to go. Their progress has been really slow. And with just Polo, Vento and Jetta they are not going to grab higher numbers. I don't know what is stopping them from getting the Up in our shores. They should learn from companies like Ford. Ford have opened parts distribution centers in Mumbai, Chennai, Delhi and now in Kolkata. For a company like VW to achieve a significant pie in our market, they will have to go that extra mile.

Team-bhp has enough advice for them and if only any of their senior officials had time to read.

[volkman10]

VW plans for second phase in India says Volkswagen brand head in India.

So, there is not a lot of looking back, and what did we do right or wrong. It is rather the clear view into the future, India is a strategic market

We are focusing on a sub-compact sedan, a compact SUV. We also need to look at the Vento, and the Polo has become a premium car in the hatchback space.

The comeback plans include revamping its existing portfolio with major face lifts to Polo and Vento and also introduce models in fast growing sub-compact sedan (codenamed ICS) and compact SUV including its premium offerings like Beetle, Passat, Jetta and Tiguan as well.

http://auto.economictimes.indiatimes...mayer/41404572

[aneezan]

Originally Posted by volkman10

VW plans for second phase in India says Volkswagen brand head in India.

Looks promising, I must say. However, the hindrance for Volkswagen is that 90% of buyers in India don't choose by heart. Its the practicality that matters and where Maruti scores high.

[ampere]

They still are not saying anything with respect to after sales service and customer satisfaction. I hope they do understand this important aspect.

[a4anurag]

Originally Posted by aneezan

Looks promising, I must say. Its the practicality that matters and where Maruti scores high.

Practicality and ease / joy of ownership. Reliability, brand value aren't in good status anyway.

VW makes lovely beautiful cars but their ASC arrant lovely to be in. That is what needs "URGENT" improvement. Nothing else!

They can have million plans with a million cars for India, till the ASC and customer satisfaction isn't solved, God help them!

Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai have slogged to reach this level. Not easy and not that difficult either.

Anurag.

[volkman10]

VW to roll out the sub 4m, India specific model in early 2015. The car is believed to be in final stages of development.
It will also use the newly developed 1.5l diesel motor featured in the new Polo and Vento.

The development of the new car, says Volkswagen, took just half the time usually spent on developing an all-new product

http://overdrive.in/news/volkswagens...dia-next-year/

[Nitthari]

Originally Posted by deetjohn

I was talking from an engineering point of view. The full size sedans have these contraptions well and truly covered in aesthetics, design and build. Especially the way they look, such a shame.

Why not keep separate slabs for hatchbacks and compact sedans? Hatchbacks less than 4m and compact sedans less than 4.4m. This is more inline with the international markets and we will get better engineered products.

How much more can 40cm add to the congestion? That's the difference between Honda City and Amaze. The percentage share of sedans on road is also relatively less when compared to hatchbacks and UVs anyways.

Bang on target Deetjohn . Nice to see like minded people. If people take up the sub 4 metre concept big time (which going by trends in India, people are!) then the congestion factor will be nullfied by the sheer volumes of the cars sold in this segment.

And if the government is trying to manage congestion by the 4 metre rule then it is a seriously flawed logic. If we take a look at the sheer number of 2 wheelers that are there (and sold) in India, they are enough to fill all the roads. The better way of managing congestion is by improving public transport and infrastructure and not by limiting the size of a car IMHO.

[volkman10]

VW gives out more details of its 2 core products- the sub 4m compact car and the CUV.

Sub 4m compact segment- lead times chopped by half to debut in late 2015

Based on Polo,the design of the sub four meter sedan is close to being frozen after a struggle to get the right styling and proportions. VW’s compact sedan will come with the Polo’s 2456mm wheelbase and not the Vento’s which is 96mm longer.
The Polo sedan will be positioned at the top of the compact sedan segment and is hence likely to be priced a notch above the Amaze.

Compact Cross Over - A Duster/ Terrano/S cross rival

The VW compact SUV may not be under four meters long. More duster size than EcoSport, this will be one of many VW SUVs to finally make it to our market. Volkswagen however is currently debating between building it on the Polo platform or on the new and more expensive modular Golf platform, also known as the MQB.

VW is planning to delight Indian car buyers with tech like Mirror link for your phone and Apple's Car Play on this new SUV.

http://www.autocarindia.com/auto-new...ts-390940.aspx

[TheLizardKing]

Originally Posted by volkman10

VW gives out more details of its 2 core products- the sub 4m compact car and the CUV.

That compact sedan looks UGLY! I was hoping and praying that VW does not fall prey to the temptation of aping the DZire/Xcent/Amaze. Looks like my prayers are not going to be answered. It is the automobile design equivalent of drawing a moustache on the Mona Lisa's face.

[sourabhzen]

Originally Posted by volkman10

Sub 4m compact segment- lead times chopped by half to debut in late 2015

Originally Posted by TheLizardKing

That compact sedan looks UGLY! I was hoping and praying that VW does not fall prey to the temptation of aping the DZire/Xcent/Amaze. Looks like my prayers are not going to be answered. It is the automobile design equivalent of drawing a moustache on the Mona Lisa's face.

Completely agree, TheLizardKing. It looks as ugly as Verito Vibe. VW has a fabulous and good looking range of cars and all they need to do is improve their after sales experience.

[Autodoc]

Originally Posted by sourabhzen

Completely agree, TheLizardKing. It looks as ugly as Verito Vibe. VW has a fabulous and good looking range of cars and all they need to do is improve their after sales experience.

Completely agree with you both. Moustache on monalisa had me in splits. That boot looks worse than dzire's; both old and new. What are these guys thinking? If you're gonna price it above xcent and dezire not only is vw going to lose the premium image but also launch a product that is almost sure to end up a sales dud. People who go for a sub 4 meter always go for their head and never heart. A product that looks like "that" priced above amaze is not going to impress anyone. Vw should rather try to maintain its premium image and get on with launching the cross over suv soon. It's pointless to plan that launch for 2017. What's the point in launching 5 years after duster and eco sport has settled the deal and established the image of a reliable and trust worthy car. Another area would've been the compact hatch market. Not launching Up! was probably a mistake they're going to end up paying dearly for.

Anyways just my 2 cents

Thanks
Sunny

[karts]

For me, It looks like a Vento stripped down from its boot just to make it 4m. I do not understand why manufacturers convert a hatch into a sub 4 meter sedan unless the hatch has a pre-planned design which would go well when converted into a sub 4-m sedan. For e.g Brio converted to an amaze, Grand i10 into an xcent. For me these are the two mid size sedans which look cute and are proportionate.

Swift which is already large from the front and sides converted into a Dzire, looks they planned for a bigger boot but to fit it into 4m, they just had to cut short that boot and looks like having a horizontal dent along the rear (no offense to Dzire owners).

An already 4m hatch (Polo) being coverted into a sub-4 meter sedan is overdone.

Thanks
Karts

[Detroit-Dude]

Originally Posted by karts

For me, It looks like a Vento stripped down from its boot just to make it 4m. I do not understand why manufacturers convert a hatch into a sub 4 meter sedan unless the hatch has a pre-planned design which would go well when converted into a sub 4-m sedan. For e.g Brio converted to an amaze, Grand i10 into an xcent. For me these are the two mid size sedans which look cute and are proportionate.



Swift which is already large from the front and sides converted into a Dzire, looks they planned for a bigger boot but to fit it into 4m, they just had to cut short that boot and looks like having a horizontal dent along the rear (no offense to Dzire owners).



An already 4m hatch (Polo) being coverted into a sub-4 meter sedan is overdone.



Thanks

Karts

Guys,this is just a rendering by autocar. VW will not screw up the design for sure. My guess is that they may use the older polo's interior/exterior design for some differentiation. As to how it looks like let's wait for the confirmed launch.
Plenty of speculative news around in auto mags!