[Aditya]

Volkswagen India has rolled out the 5,00,000th car from its plant at Chakan, near Pune. Car no. 5,00,000 is a red Polo GT TSI hatchback with a 7-speed DSG transmission, built for the domestic market.



Volkswagen started production of cars at the Pune factory in March 2009. Since then, more than 4 lakh units have been rolled out for the domestic market as well as thirty-two export markets across three continents. The plant produces the Polo and Vento sedan (in both, left and right hand drive versions) and the Skoda Rapid sedan. The Skoda Fabia hatchback was also produced at this plant till the end of 2013.

The Chakan plant is spread over an area of 572 acres. It has a body shop, a paint shop and an assembly facility. It has an installed annual capacity of 2,00,000 cars in a two-shift system. At present, it is producing 1,30,000 cars (430 per day) in a two-shift system. The plant provides employment to approximately 3,200 direct and indirect employees. It builds cars in right-hand drive and left-hand drive variants. Cars built here are also exported to 32 countries across 3 continents (Asia, Africa and North America).

Volkswagen Pune Plant Chronicles:

• March 2009: Volkswagen Pune Plant inaugurated and first Fabia rolled out
• December 2009: Start of Polo production
• August 2010: Start of Vento production
• December 2010: Start of production for export to South Africa
• July 2011: 1,00,000th car rolls out of Pune Plant
• October 2011: Start of Rapid production
• July 2012: Start of production of left-hand drive cars
• October 2013: Start of export to Mexico
• April 2014: 50,000th export car rolled out of Volkswagen Pune Plant
• December 2014: With 1,11,444 units, the highest number of cars produced at Volkswagen Pune Plant within one year is achieved – in the same month the 100,000th export car was also produced
• 19 May 2015: 5,00,000th car rolls out of Pune Plant

[Rahul Bhalgat]

Originally Posted by Aditya

Volkswagen India has rolled out the 5,00,000th car from its plant at Chakan, near Pune. Car no. 5,00,000 is a red Polo GT TSI hatchback with a 7-speed DSG transmission, built for the domestic market.

Thanks for sharing the information Aditya.

I was little surprised. VW cars on our roads is now a common site. But I never imagined they would have crossed 500,000.

I will say that Skoda / VW acquainted us with sturdy cars with good workmanship and drive-ability. They reminded us that simple designs with straight lines can be good and timeless. They made some of us realise that the car's driving characteristics / dynamics are more important than the gadgets. That's a notable contribution.

On this milestone, I will congratulate VW and wish them better and better reading of the expectations of Indian car owners about maintenance cost / reliability.

[GTO]

Originally Posted by Rahul Bhalgat

VW cars on our roads is now a common site. But I never imagined they would have crossed 500,000.

They haven't locally. Of the 5 lakh cars built, anywhere between 1.2 - 1.5 lakh cars were exported.

EDIT: I'm seeing that VW has sold a little over 3 lakh cars in India till date. The difference between their local sales & exports isn't adding up. Wondering if they've added the production of sister brands at Chakan to this 500,000 number.

[Rahul Bhalgat]

Originally Posted by GTO

They haven't locally. Of the 5 lakh cars built, anywhere between 1.2 - 1.5 lakh cars were exported.

EDIT: I'm seeing that VW has sold a little over 3 lakh cars in India till date. The difference between their local sales & exports isn't adding up. Wondering if they've added the production of sister brands at Chakan to this 500,000 number.

Possible! The marketing aggression is not surprising. In the FMCG sector too, we see aggressive claims.