Team-BHP - VW Polo for 4.35 lakhs

I think the 4.35 lakhs variant would be with the Fabia's 1.2L engine. The better and more buyable variants would easily be around 6.5 to 7.5 lakhs. Still, even a top end variant at about 7.6 to 7.85 lakhs would be a great buy provided they sort out the dealerships , service and spares issue before launch. Since their group company believes that there is nothing wrong that they are doing, VW can look at towards their Italian friends for some gyan.

It is supposed to be targetted at Swift, Getz and Indica for the Indian market. moreover, the price is compatible because this will be manufactured fully out of the Indian plant at chakan.
VW's main margin-earning game is in Passat and Audi brands, with a mass-prod focus on Polo. I think it wont be compromised in terms of specs or features (ofcourse keeping in view what the competition offers). We shouldnt compare the UK variants with the ones in India, even the Swift / Indica / Spark / Nano have differences.

I was pleasantly surprised to read this.

Volkswagen aims to sell one lakh cars by 2014 - dnaindia.com

A few points of note by VW India:

1. Expect to sell 25,000 - 30,000 cars in 2010 due to Polo hatchback and notchback.

2. The pricing benckmark will be Swift - "Our goal in India is very clear -- we need to be a high volume player. We will not benchmark pricing with group companies (Skoda Fabia) but with segment leaders. Our prime benchmark for the Polo would be Suzuki Swift".

3. A admission to the truth by VW at last that Fabia is not doing well. "Group company Skoda's maiden hatchback model, Fabia, is not doing particularly well in sales largely because of consumer perception of "high price".".

Cheers,

VW seems to be thinking fine. It is pretty right about the pricing strategy. I finally see an European company which can succeed in India. Hope they also provide good service backup, as opposed to their sister concern.

Rare condour among marketing people I must salute this person for honesty mostly corp marketing is a lot of tripe about how market is not ready for their products , they will deliver superior value and standard lines . Looks like they are thinking in righ direction . Just do it right now !

VW should come up with exclusive service and maintenance schemes to compete with likes of Swift. It is a start for them and will be really interesting to see what cards they play.

Quote:

Originally Posted by diffsoft (Post 1440776)

3. A admission to the truth by VW at last that Fabia is not doing well. "Group company Skoda's maiden hatchback model, Fabia, is not doing particularly well in sales largely because of consumer perception of "high price".".

Really? IMO its not the price. Hell, if not for the engine options it looks VFM compared to Jazz. Their biggest problems lie in A.S.S and the puny engines.

@amit27 - +1 that it is rare candour, when it does absolutely no harm to speak the truth.

I think VW seems to be showing amazing clarity in its plans unlike other global biggies Toyota / Honda who seem more "tactical" in nature.

It is often forgotten that VW has probably been the most successful in developing countries - it is the largest foreign car maker in China, the largest in Brazil, etc. So they likely know their act better than others in these markets.

Cheers,

And it would be good if the VW sticks to the great quality and quality parts unlike their US counterparts. My bro had bought a VW Jetta in US last year and the very 2nd day the gearbox failed, they replaced the gearbox and again the next week the brakes failed which could have been very fatal. So he went ahead with filling a lawsuit as soon the Dealer there learnt about this he was ready to upgrade him to Passat. But constant complains of quality even by other owners made him go for complete cash return and went ahead with BMW 1 series coupe. It seems the VW cars supplied in US comes from Brazil. I hope they don't compromise on quality here with products like Polo and Golf which are fantastic products to drive.

Seems like the skoda episode was a learning phase for the parent company.Now that they know the market well...hope they improve the service and overall experience.The pricing seems to be a good move.Hope this translates into better sales and poses stiff competition to overpriced japanese counterparts.If they succeed the prices of cars in the segment are definitely gonna come down.But A.S.S will be the big question mark in the volume market.

Good decision VW. If you need a successful hatch, you should target swift pricing. Just like Punto!

I've always maintained that hatchbacks prices should be more like swift/Ritz/Punto, not like jazz/i20. At that point I will consider sedans.

Quote:

Originally Posted by neotraveller (Post 1441056)

I'd rather see at least one carmaker give us a real hot hatch that can be practical too. The Palio 1.6 is too old now but it is the only hatch that I can name which has all the right ingredients. Top engine, brilliant handling, good build and decent comfort at a cheap price. What didn't it have? A boot. That is only an issue for those who have that "sedan is prestigious" perception. VW could give us one of those packages at Jazz rivalling prices or they could give us stripped down boring versions. I really hope they don't ruin the Polo by making it another people carrier. We've got plenty of those already.

I'm pleasantly surprised at the pricing being suggested in this thread for the Polo. I think their current offerings - the Jetta and Passat - are both overpriced so if the Polo pricing suggestions are true then this will be a departure from their approach until now. Engines offerings on the Jetta are also disappointing so hopefully the Polo will reverse that trend too.

Lets see what they finally come up with and at what price. Fingers crossed.

The proposed pricing and the styling of the new Polo are certain to attract customers. So the strategy is very much in the right direction as many of you have pointed above. However what concerns me is that VW seem to have only 17 dealers across the country as of today. This is if the data on their website is correct. To setup dealerships and develop competency in servicing vehicles over a period of 4-6 months will be a challenge. If my guess is correct all the other companies in this space would have atleast 10 times the number of dealers.

So while the strategy looks good on paper, it will be interesting to see how VW actually implements it on ground.

2. The pricing benckmark will be Swift - "Our goal in India is very clear -- we need to be a high volume player. We will not benchmark pricing with group companies (Skoda Fabia) but with segment leaders. Our prime benchmark for the Polo would be Suzuki Swift".

^^^ Quiet an interesting statement.
This clearly suggests it may come in 4.5-6 lakh range rather than 7-8 lac as expected by most people jere.
If it does launch at swifts price range i believe its gonna be a sure shot hit.