[Rajeevraj]

The 'Guess the price' GIF on the VW Facebook page goes from 5L to 7L. So would be safe to say that starting price will be between 5 and 7L

Autocar article says-Well below 5.4L and at the same time say do not expect Zest or Aspire prices (5.07 and 5.2). That means something like 5.3L. That is not well below 5.4L

[RavenAvi]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Are they planning to price it alongside Polo? Bangalore prices for Polo starts at 5.4 ex showroom.

Essentially, the Ameo is a modified Polo with a boot.

Unlike the Aspire (109mm), DZire (110mm), Zest (170mm), XCent (230mm) and the Amaze (380mm), Volkswagen's engineers had only 25mm to work with!

It won't be wrong to say that both cars are very much similar to each other, except for the mini boot at the rear. With the right amount of localisation (and cost cutting, if I may dare), and since the Ameo has been developed as an India-specific product (for the time being, at least), an extremely competitive pricing can be arrived at.

It will help Volkswagen advertise the starting price everywhere to feed on the public perception. After that (surprise) introductory price, if the Highline variant is priced a bit above the ZXIs, the VX MTs, the Asta(O)s, etc., it could still see plenty of sales.

Volkswagen knows that it's very late to the compact sedan segment. It desperately needs something different to pull some customers away from the in-segment competitors. What better way to do it than - "Come own a Volkswagen sedan at 5.2x lacs!"?

As for the Polo, it can still survive at a minimum-rupee difference. VW executives will be quick to point out that the Ameo is based on the Polo, which is a premium hatch and is placed at a slightly higher segment than the Swift, Brio, Grand i10, Figo, et al.

Though, like vb-san said, the Vento will be more affected than the Polo through this pricing exercise. But, after the Dieselgate scandal, VW is heavily dependent on the Ameo's success for it's stability in the Indian auto market.

Originally Posted by YashD

At the end of the day Ameo is simply a Polo with bigger boot.

+1.

I think they will tee off Ameo's innings with an introductory price of 5.29 lakhs.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by RavenAvi

Volkswagen knows that it's very late to the compact sedan segment. It desperately needs something different to pull some customers away from the in-segment competitors. What better way to do it than - "Come own a Volkswagen sedan at 5.2x lacs!"?

Agree with every single word you said, except on the prospects of the Polo. Ameo has a very good chance of survival if priced against Polo. That will surely be a talking point to get people to the showrooms.

However, as we have seen in other case like Bolt & Zest, Brio & Amaze, Swift & DZire etc - you provide more value for the sedan, it tends to sell higher than the hatch. I repeat, value, not only cost. When you provide value and less cost like TATA did - the hatchback is simply killed off. Thats how much the Indian market is biased towards sedans!

And yes, I agree Vento would be really affected as well. It was starting to show its age anyways though! So VW might be betting big on the Ameo till the next generation Polo and Vento can be brought to the market.

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

That is not well below 5.4L

BATA'ish 5.39L perhaps?

[vishy76]

Following are the variants for the Ameo:
Trendline(available with both engines in manual guise only)
-12V power outlet
-Foldable rear seat backrest
-Manually adjustable ORVMs
-Front power windows
-Central locking
-Tilt and telescopic steering wheel
-Driver dead pedal

Comfortline(available in the 1.5 diesel DSG and manual along with the petrol)
In addition to the features offered with the Trendline,the Comfortline gets
-Cruise control
-Dual-beam headlamps
-Dual-tone interiors
-Cooled glovebox
-Ambient lighting
-Height-adjustable driver seat
-Electrically adjustable ORVMs
-Power windows for all four doors
-Front fog lamps
-4-speaker audio system with CD/MP3 player with USB, aux-in and SD card input
-Bluetooth connectivity
-Electronic Stability Program (only on 1.5-diesel automatic)
-Hill-start assist (only on 1.5-diesel automatic)

Highline(offered with the DSG in diesel guise and petrol and diesel manual options)
Along with the features on the Comfortline and Trendline the Highline additionally gets
-Alloy wheels
-Leather-wrapped steering and door knob
-Reverse parking camera and sensors
-Rain-sensing wipers
-Arm rests
-Rear AC vents
-Automatic climate control
-Electrically foldable ORVMs
-Auto-dimming internal rear-view mirror
-Rear defogger
-Touchscreen infotainment system
-Voice command
The Comfortline seems to be the most value for money variant.If you don't want the boot go for the Polo because the Highline is the only one which gets rear AC vents.It is shocking to see the omission of a rear defogger and rear AC vents on the lower variants by Volkswagen.2 Airbags and ABS+EBD is standard equipment.
Source:Autocar India

[heydj]

Why can't they price it alongside Polo? It is better one car in stable cannibalizes sale of another then loosing customer to other brand.

It is now upto people what they prefer - poor mans Vento or premium looking Hatchback. Do the marketing accordingly.

I also read the post where it was said they are not in volume game - I hope VW shareholders do not see this post.

This mentality of Ford / VW thinking they will offer good product and not take into consideration Indian market dynamics will not get them anywhere.

Ford launched Aspire and Figo (good products) and see where the sales are, its important to get out of European mindset and think as the Asians and especially Indians do.

Almost all cars of Maruti & Hyundai stable fail crash test still they are largest selling, why?

It is this 'why' VW & Ford are not addressing, instead comforting themselves with the line - ''we are not in volume game'' what bumkin!

[vishy76]

I have come up with the following analysis of the Ameo. Anyone who wants to oppose my views is welcome to do so for the benefit of the readers. Even I would like to learn a bit more from all of the senior members.

Firstly, I agree with heydj and I really hate the mentality of German and American automakers when it comes to marketing. I mean, not all of us here are car enthusiasts and visit team bhp and tune into car news every day. Only manufacturers who treat the customer as king al'a Hyundai and Maruti Suzuki are rewarded here although their cars might not be as well built as the German or American ones.

Secondly, I really doubt the number of people who will buy an Ameo. The car is competing with the likes of the Dzire and the Amaze, both of which are backed by strong after sales and widespread dealer networks, apart from having more space too.

I am also a bit confused about the positioning of the car. Yes,some people who are really into cars might conceive the fact that the car is a longer polo and not a chopped up Vento, but what about the rest who don't care about them? All of us knew that one day or the other, Volkswagen would run into problems with the car's positioning due to the Vento. There will be a thin group of customers who would want the Ameo especially since the legroom has only increased by a short margin over the polo.Everyone knows what happened to the Audi Q5.

My take on this is to buy a:

Vento Comfortline - Space (rear legroom), Larger boot, a more powerful diesel, more features as standard (rear defogger and rear AC vents), looks

Polo - don't want to pay the extra money for the Vento and don't want the boot.

Advantages of the Ameo:

- DSG gearbox with the torquey 1.5 litre diesel which is unavailable in the Polo.
- A Reverse Camera again neither available in the Polo nor the Vento(could be introduced on the 2016 facelift Vento though)
- The boot for a lower price and the 10% extra legroom too
- segment first features(touchscreen infotainment,reverse camera,rain sensing wipers etc)
- build quality and snob value(although this is subjective)

Drawbacks:

- pricing it is going to be difficult(could cost more than rivals as with any German car)
- heavy overlaps with its siblings is inevitable
- ungainly looks as compared to it's better looking cousins or even the Amaze which looks more proportionate
- rear legroom is still tight as compared to the vento as well as the competition
- mediocre 1.2 litre MPI engine can't compete with those Honda i-vtecs

Verdict - it will be interesting to see how the Ameo is priced by Volkswagen. Either ways, I would prefer the Polo or the Vento over it any day.

[quadmaniac]

Just announced starting price: 5.13 lakhs: http://bit.ly/AmeoPrice

Edit: Can't seem to find prices of other variants anywhere. Tweeted @Volkswagenindia about it.

[Sebring]

So they priced it along side Polo. Bad news for the old champ but hey good for consumers. Frankly, I was expecting a 25k premium over Polo.

[RavenAvi]

Here it is!

I must say I am pleasantly surprised. Very aggressive move by Volkswagen India, by undercutting the Polo's pricing with the Ameo.

That said, check out the price difference between the other variants - the Comfortline petrol is ~74,000 rupees dearer, while the Highline is a whopping ~1.04 lakh rupees costlier than the Comfortline!

That makes a price difference of ~1.78 lakh rupees between the Base and the Top Ameo variants.

And the sales' impact on Polo/Vento sales in the coming months, remains to be seen.

News 18 Auto

Originally Posted by quadmaniac

I can't seem to find on the VW website (I'm looking for Hyderabad ex-showroom prices).

Expect the official website to be updated in a few minutes (or hours). That said, the official site doesn't carry the prices of any of it's cars.

If they provide a city-wise price list for the Ameo, it will be a first (in a long time!).

[quadmaniac]

Where did you get that list @RavenAvi? I can't seem to find on the VW website (I'm looking for Hyderabad ex-showroom prices).

EDIT: Never mind - saw the source at the bottom. Agree, great pricing by VW. The top end around 8L on road seems to have a lot of segment firsts. VWs service network could make or break this for VW India!

Eagerly waiting for the tbhp official review

[aravind.anand]

Originally Posted by vishy76

If you don't want the boot go for the Polo because the Highline is the only one which gets rear AC vents.It is shocking to see the omission of a rear defogger and rear AC vents on the lower variants by Volkswagen.2 Airbags and ABS+EBD is standard equipment.
Source:Autocar India

I don't think leaving out the rear AC vents on such a small car is a grievous mistake. Even the ones on the Vento are more cosmetic, than functional. And I agree that the Comfortline is the most VFM variant in the line-up

[avdhesh15]

Brilliant pricing I must say esp for the base version. I didn't expect VW to be so aggressive. But they need to get the diesel faaast. The DSG at approx 7 lacs (1 lac premium from petrol to diesel and 1 lac for DSG) ex-showroom would be great pricing

I also feel that they might target the Ubers and the Olas with the Ameo in order to increase sales numbers.

[Rajeevraj]

Fantastic pricing. So they have really gone and positioned it below the polo. Good move.

Edit: Interesting. The base trendline is positioned below the polo by ~12k, for the comfortline variant both the Ameo and Polo are priced exactly same at 6L. And for the highline, the Ameo is actually more expensive than the Polo by 12k.

Btw who releases pricing on a Sunday afternoon via Facebook? Any of the Asian manufacturers would have had a dedicated event with all media invited and would have made a big deal of such great pricing and positioning.

[Nissan1180]

At this price, they have a winner.
Let us hope that a lot of localisation effort has gone into this product. If the spares are reasonably priced and the FE figures are good, the DZire has a very close competitor.
I feel bad for the Tata Zest and the Aspire. Both are brilliant cars but the Ameo undercuts them on the price (while offering ABS and Airbags in all variants) and is likely to win.
Has any information been made available from VW about the safety ratings for the Ameo? Also, does anyone know the weight of the car? I browsed through the brochure but could not find any information about the weight.

[volkman10]

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

Btw who releases pricing on a Sunday afternoon via Facebook? .

It is in the VW homepage, as speculated launch is in Petrol and MT variant only- Diesel/DSG Variant to come later.