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-   -   VW's Steffen Knapp lays out future product plan for India (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian-car-scene/196658-vws-steffen-knapp-lays-out-future-product-plan-india.html)

VW defines its plans for India , ( excerpts from interview of Steffan Knapp with SVP)

- VW decides that future products will be built on the MQB platform.( along with Skoda)

- 2018 Polo need to be tweaked for India to accommodate the 4m length

- Golf is not being considered right now.( includes e Golf)

- Ameo GT TSI ? ( high chance of its release but depends on the feedback and interest from prospective customers)

- Virtus is highly successful in Brazil. Virtus could replace Vento in India.

- T ROC ( need to have a business case, could be evaluated)

- New JETTA not for India ( not for Right hand drive markets)

- CUV and SUV's being looked into for India too. ( on Priority) - Below the Tiguan segment , is the key focus for India.

- MPV's from VW is not of interest for India

- 2018 will see propositions from VW on the existing cars.


Link

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I still do not see concrete plans from
VW and Skoda! They are contemplating too much on their next set of cars! They should be really bothered about the onslaught of KIA who is going to be bringing at least 3-4 cars before 2020. Add to this, newer models from existing players like Tata and the others can easily make the 3-4% market share of VW and Skoda to a smaller number!
They need to act fast and bring relevant products. The need of the hour is a Creta Rival. That is where there is a clear gap and market requirement. Virtus may not do much, given that rhe c segment is already crowded and you have a Toyota coming in as well. So between Toyota, Honda, Hyundai and Suzuki, they will easily corner 90% of that segment.

Really! This is a plan? For me it looks like blabbering. Not even a single new launch planned for the year 2018. New Polo is being evaluated, so unlikely for near future. The flogging dead horse smiley has been flogged so many times, so I'm refraining from that. These guys don't have any concrete plans and for them that is a plan please: !

That can hardly be called a 'Plan', more like a talk people have at water coolers in office. Too many 'could' and 'if's in the statement made by VW.

The fact is VW is not keen to increase market share in India, else they would have launched the Virtus by now. The Ameo GT will will find takers, but that would be a very small portion of the sub-4m cars sold in India. New Polo should have been launched at-least a two years ago IMO.

It seems Profitability takes precedence over everything else at VW India :)

It is almost like saying – Our plan is to have no plans!

If they really want to get a small bite of the volume segments, they probably can do the following:

• Go a little less ambitious on margins, and get the new Polo in ASAP, and sell it under 10 lakhs. Don’t chop and create another compromise by doing a ‘Made for India’ act.
• Bring in the Up! The little VW can take on the likes of the Ignis.
• A small crossover to go against the likes of the Creta.
• And lastly, forget about the Ameo GT!

I was watching the broadcast live and asked him on the exorbitantly priced spares and whats their plan to localize them to which he said "There are concrete plans to maximize localization." I do not see any plans.

I mean what are they doing for last 10 or so years when they are not able to buy batteries from the Indian market. All VW OEM batteries are either Spain or Korea built. All the other consumables like the filters etc too are European built. What was keeping them all this while??

Another thing and an absolute white lie was about the DSG failures. He simply refused to acknowledge it as an issue. Can someone please ask him to go through all the horror stories on this forum?

To me, the Ameo GT-TSi looks like a niche withing a niche. Although the entire C-Segment has moved a notch higher (C2) and buyers do seek fun to drive cars within the C1 segment, it's still a budget-conscious segment the GT-TSi combination is bound to push the prices much higher (since it'll come with all the bells and whistles). There is no concrete strategy to be seen from VW, for now. :Frustrati

They'd do well to leverage the core German strengths of solid build, fun-to-drive vehicles, and advanced technology into the segments lower than the Jetta. As vb-san rightly commented, they must shift their focus from fat margins to substantial volumes and after-sales service. The Polo and Vento, though competent, have got extremely long in the tooth
now and are overdue for replacements. When manufacturers like Kia are eyeing an aggressive foray into the market and the established players are already on a roll, VW has a reason to worry.

Sadly, there's no proper upgrade path for someone looking for a solid modern European sedan within the 15L price point.

VW Virtus and it's Skoda twin would be exactly that but VAG doesn't seem to be serious in bringing these to us in a timely manner.

Reading this, I think VW is giving out the message loud and clear. They are not interested in the Indian market.

VW, beware!! Chevrolet followed a similar approach of not renewing their product portfolio and ultimately left the market. Learn something from TATA. They introduced new and modern cars and are on the verge of turning around their fortunes in the Indian market.

Heck!! Look at KIA, how serious they are about the market opportunity. They haven't even entered the market yet.

What an irony! The manufacturer with an extensive and competent line-up globally is struggling to commit new launches and striking-off model after model as unsuitable!

VW is neither going below the Polo/Vento segment nor launching the new generation Polo, and not really going a segment above either. Why not consider the Touran if Toyota could showcase the Alphard at the Auto Expo.

Entirely different segment. Touran is a small MPV, and with our market’s general lack of affinity towards MPVs it will be perceived more like a high-priced Mobilio.

No words on improving service - which I believe should be the main focus area for them. I don't see how the refreshes or new launches are going to change the perception about them. The fleet of VW and its sidekick Skoda is a bomb to maintain in the long run. For starters I think Ford can be a good case study.

While, we all hope VW brings its latest products like the Virtus and T-Roc to India, the only "new product" that's realistically possible at the moment is the Ameo GT TSI, since MQB / low-cost MQB A0 is still a couple of years away.

However, there's no denying the fact that VW needs to update their model line-up ASAP, if it wants to be a relevant player in the Indian market.

There is a saying in Malayalam ‘ Knappan’ which originated from a guy called Knapp.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/A._R._Knapp

From Wikipedia “ In his first posting in Malabar at a young age of 21, Knapp set in motion various administrative, policy and police reforms that were at best, quixotic in nature. His efforts were futile, garnering no benefits despite looking good on paper. The word Knapp-'an' which describes a person who is incompetent and a failure in the local language Malayalam lives on to this day.

It’s really surprising that history can repeat that too after more than hundred years lol: ! But A.R. Knapp could be forgiven as he was only 21.