![]() | #31 | |
Senior - BHPian ![]() Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: cochin
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![]() But I wonder why they appear bearish on the Indian market. Or perhaps they feel the market is not mature or affluent enough to expand their range? | |
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![]() | #32 |
BHPian Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Bangalore
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| ![]() Is there is a way to inform VW about this thread. Without VW reading these thread, all of feedback goes to /dev/null. |
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![]() | #33 |
Distinguished - BHPian ![]() ![]() Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Bangalore
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| ![]() I think its not just about dealerships and product line etc..I have rarely had a good experience while visiting Honda dealerships. Multiple times I have heard the line 'Sir, it is a Honda' as answer to some of my questions. So IMHO there are 2 key things to crack the Indian Market
I do not see VW anywhere close to achieving both of the above. Maybe a compact Vento with a manual 1.2 TSI can help? Last edited by Rajeevraj : 12th December 2013 at 20:57. Reason: Formatting |
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![]() | #34 |
BHPian ![]() Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Pune-Bangalore
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| ![]() My 2 cents as a VW Vento owner. 1) Product build quality topnotch. Feels like built to last and made for India. 2) After sales Service not at par with other car companies. 3) Kudos to giving Honda jitters in 2010-11 time frame and pushing Honda City out of the slot of Number 1 in class. 4) Fizzled out product line up along the way. Skoda brand coming out with cars which are killing the VW business as the Indian market is very price sensitive. This is surprising because Skoda is VW group company and VW has shown some smart tactics earlier. 5) Need to get their act together and re-think their India strategy. I think most co-VW owners would agree that the company has a great durable product. THeir strategy to sell and maintain it would have to be re-done. They probably need a Carlos Ghosn / Marc Llistosella type of task master to get it together. |
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![]() | #35 |
BHPian Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Sydney, AU
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| ![]() Many of our team mates have already given valuable suggestions here. Like others said, Volkswagen products are designed, engineered and made to last products but they need to be launched in India to match our local needs. As the customer base is increasing, VW India should ensure that sales, service and customer care are of truly international standard. Another suggestion, like Honda they should start aggressive localization drives to cut down the costs. Even Honda was unable to localize their products, but slowly they are making good progress and we all have seen the out come. They should seriously consider a made for India VW UP!. |
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![]() | #36 |
Senior - BHPian ![]() Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Pune
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Infractions: 0/1 (5) | ![]() There is no way forward for VW in India if they don't improve their service & cost of the ownership. As simple as that ![]() Now due to peoples awareness, internet & social media, people now knows that VW cars are very expensive to own and more than that there service is very poor along with their attitude towards the customer. My cousin was very eager to buy Polo when it was launched. His logic was its awesome that one can buy European car like VW Polo at such a low cost. But after hearing lots of horror stories from his own friends & others, he simply don't wanna buy any of the car from them now. He is very happy with his own Hyundai. Here in India, people wants service @ realistic cost. With current approach from VW (& Skoda) people will soon run away from their products. There inventory of 28 K just shows that. |
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![]() | #37 |
BHPian Join Date: Feb 2013 Location: Bangalore
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| ![]() One more point apart from what has already been said in this thread is the sheer lack of initiative from VAG to scale and indigenize their production. This is hurting them in increased costs and in providing repair parts quickly. Even after being present in India for more than a decade, Skoda/VW still import even the basic parts like air filter and battery connectors from Germany. I understand that they are not planning to invest more in India but what stops them from using it as their production and export hub just as Ford and Hyundai are doing? |
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![]() | #38 | |
BHPian ![]() Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Chennai
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What irks me is that the attitude of the dealers and probably the company itself - 'This is enough for you' especially on the nice gizmos which most of the cars come now (loaded to the gills) - which VWs' car never had. It all stems from the fact of not understanding the Indian customer psyche well. India can be terribly snobbish and BBD - Bigger better deal types. Indians want stylish cars, lots of gizmos, low running costs all at Hero Honda price - anything less you can see what happens. VW will need to spruce up its local R&D and purchase departments for local sourcing - if they have a cost issue importing. All this cannot be done overnight. Will take time and they need to go for discounts, catchy advertising to keep the momentum. Else they will go the Fiat way. | |
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![]() | #39 |
BHPian ![]() Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Kochi/Trivandrum
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| ![]() Having taken the bold (outlandish) step of moving away for the first time after having had used Maruti's or Hyundai's for over 2 decades, I must admit that Vento as a product is quite VFM (Vento TDI - HL is what I use) especially build quality and for the engine torque. I had the opportunity to speak to the Sales Manager at the VW dealership and also a few other too there and strangely felt that they are not able to connect to the general customer. While brands like Fiat are banking on their brand loyalty (not sure if it working though), others like Maruthi are milking their credibility. Even newer entrants like Nissan and Renault are trying to help people associate with their products. VW, I fear, is not reaching out to their target market well or have they even done a market segmentation yet is a question that I always wonder. The way forward according to me * Use the cult following elsewhere that VW has, to drum up some interest; * Use strategies to break the bad press about high maintenance cost. Say instead of an upfront discount of 15k when buying the car, instead put that money against the first service and advertise that the first paid service will be at the end of 2 years of 30k (now it is 15k or 1 year); * Stop ineffective marketing strategies like 50% pay and own a VW. It just gives a dubious impression. Instead, focus on advertising that is more oriented towards the customer base they want to reach out; * Now that they have the VW polo cup, utilize maximum of that to build a brand image, after all the demographics of their customer base should give them an idea who they need to reach out to. * Customer connect should be improved, after all, word-of-mouth works a lot. * Genuinely try to improve the service quality, customer service levels and service cost related issues. The problem is, instead of introspection and worrying about their dwindling sales, they have come out with a 2.5 % increase in their price to mitigate the input costs: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/....cms?prtpage=1 PS: After having owned the Vento, the product suffers an identity crisis because she looks so similar to her younger sibling (Polo). In the Indian market that is so driven by image, people who tend to spend in the 10L+ range is looking at some identity/ image differentiation, unfortunately. You always have to wait till the boot to decide if it is a vento or polo ![]() |
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![]() | #40 |
Team-BHP Support ![]() ![]() | ![]() I hope it does not become a classic case of not solving the problem in hand but introducing another product and passing on the buck to the next one. And that is in case the new product arrives! |
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![]() | #41 |
Senior - BHPian ![]() Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Noida/Delhi
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| ![]() More grist for the mill: India Proves Hard to Crack for VW as Swift Outshines Polo: Cars http://www.businessweek.com/news/201...ines-polo-cars |
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![]() | #42 |
Senior - BHPian ![]() Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Pune
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| ![]() Most of the reasons for the sales figures we all, already know. The negative publicity floating around Volkswagen and Skoda; has finally started to catch up with them; I feel. They have good cars no doubt, but they should first clean up their attitude (and their dealer's attitudes in dealing with customers) and reputation. I have read/heard more horror stories about Volkswagen group than good ones. Secondly I don't think they will ever try and offer the same level of equipment/engines to India that they offer internationally. For them, India is a cost cutting market only. Net conclusion I feel : The sales figures would be more or less what we are seeing now. Is anyone at Volkswagen group even reading this thread and pondering over the reason for failure? ![]() |
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![]() | #43 | |
Senior - BHPian ![]() Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: cochin
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Take Volkswagen’s Polo hatchback, which at 510,000 rupees ($8,180) is 11 percent more expensive than market leader Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. (MSIL)’s Swift. Here’s what Indian consumers will get for German engineering ![]() | |
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![]() | #44 |
BHPian Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: Hyd / Mumbai
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| ![]() Very nice thread and brings to my mind the mixed experiences I had with 2 brands of VW (skoda's Fabia and vw's jetta) as a customer. I have been tracking some of their corporate developments too. They appointed Arvind saxena from hyundai india's as CEO of vw India. guess VW bosses would have hoped he would recreate some of the magic which helps hyundai deliver great sales volumes with products suitable for india and priced competitively. VW India plans to launch their low end hatch under the brand-name "Up". I have no clue when they plan to launch it though. Combined marketshare of VW and SKoda in the executive sedan segment (jetta, Laura, superb, passat, Octavia) is strong in my personal opinion. They will need to reposition their pricing and cost of ownership if VW group (skoda and vw) wants to increase market share to even 5% by 2015. Other team bhpians have made some extremely valid points on the family look of vento, polo and jetta; poor dealer staffing, cost of spares and service etc. |
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![]() | #45 |
BHPian ![]() Join Date: Aug 2013 Location: Berkeley, CA
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| ![]() Volkswagen develops wonderful cars and posses of a large number of brands in it's portfolio. This suggests that they don't have shortage of any sort of money and in a large volume market like India, they shouldn't worry about the results. VAG for god's sake don't cut corners. With poor sales and services, poor customer transparency and unwise decisions, your reputation has taken a hit. Some time back, Vw's sales had rocketed quite high with the Vento and Polo selling well, but then the Rapid came in. Rebadging is the last thing you need to resort to. We saw it in the Micra and Pulse. Next, please train your mechanics well and establish professional protocols for servicing and troubleshooting. Mechanics don't know anything about where the rattles are coming from and when you tell them, they simply avoid it. Next, make your cars more suited to Indian road conditions. Adapt your cars and please provide better drivetrains and definitely better cars. Better demands for the Polo Tsi speak the fact. Next, where is the VW up bound to make its grand entrance into our market? Plus, your so called premium image keeps buyers away because of the premium they have to pay to keep your cars up and running. Why don't you bring the Touran to India and make it battle the Innova, the Innova does sell huge figures. Then, develop some cars for India and maybe Brazil and China (like the EcoSport). I am sure this will help you get to the top of the ladder and beat Toyota. |
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