[grules]

This is unbelievable. Why would Maruti do this especially when they did a makeover for the wagon-r and launched it very recently?

Will this be applicable in India or just for exports?

[highsteem]

Originally Posted by grules

This is unbelievable. Why would Maruti do this especially when they did a makeover for the wagon-r and launched it very recently?
Will this be applicable in India or just for exports?

Exactly, this is only for exports and nothing to do with India. Please mods modify the title which is really misleading, before this thread goes into jumbo size with surprises and shocks!!

[sidindica]

That news is a joke. VW already has another small car called fox which is cheaper than the polo.
VW surely would think of not to repeat the debacle that it is facing with the chrysler based routan minivan in the US.
Secondly, VW India's policies seem to be confused with it's group companies also.
Better increase the production of the polo and make necessary upgrades if you want volumes.
Wagon R and ritz based cars will be sales debacles in Quality conscious Europe, and no matter the price, its the VW badge there that has a reputation to carry.

[absynthguzzler]

Being sold as an Opel or as Vauxhall or Holden in UK is a completely different to being branded as a VW car imho. Those brands have always been known to borrow/share platforms.VW is a big daddy all across and i would have preferred ( felt comfortable as a brand fan ) if the deal said its subsidiaries would be utilizing the Suzuki models to expand their buyers range . SEAT for example, why not use their badge ? .

VW is marketing the Phaeton under its branding , as competition to the worlds best luxury cars. Is Maruti or Suzuki doing this across the globe ? . Why would Toyota have the Lexus brand around the globe barring Japan if they could sell the same premium luxury cars as Toyota ? There is a reason behind this and that is Brand Image - exactly why i hope the news actually meant VW family and not VW itself .

[rbp]

I am not sure if VW will get the DDIS engines, they are from Fiat.

[recshenoy]

oh Come on VW and MSIL. You cant sell "not so good looking back" Ritz as a German car! can it

And also the boxy Wagon-R, its stero type of a japanese car. Again VW badge is a misfit IMHO.

These cars are selling good due to Maruti brand and low price! with VW brand in India and "At premium"! lets wait and watch

[ampere]

Would be nice to see a 1.2TSI and 1.2 K series and a fight as to what to buy? This seems like a amazing development.
But still I cannot visualize the overall reach of VW. Definitely a long shot in the making for VW to be a common name in India.

[anjan_c2007]

Originally Posted by absynthguzzler

NDTV says WagonR and Ritz would be rebadged and moved into the VW stable and sold at a premium .

I personally find this development mind boggling . I dont see how Japanese/Indian technology and styling principles can directly be adopted by a German Manufacturer and yet still gain respect for it.

This defo has something to do with Maruti's future plans . It might be so massive that no other manufacturer may be able to compete. VW knows this and is prepared to take a brand cut - Its the developing market anyways , our minds will always sway towards anything thats new.

They may sell it as VW in markets like those in Europe, Latin America and perhaps the US where VW cars have a better brand equity. I think it will be dual branding somewhat like the Geo Metro (2 door hatch) of the US from GM which was sold as the Maruti Esteem (4 door sedan) here.Also Opels and Vauxhalls had similar models that were badged by GM for Germany and UK respectively as buyers know these brands the best in their countries.
Its impossible to think that VW will re brand these cars for the Indian market as Maruti Suzuki has the best brand equity here and nothing comes even close to it.VW's world will be confined to its Polo, Vento, New Beetle and Jetta plus anything that they may introduce in future.

[agspins]

I think it would go the Nissan way as in the case of A-star/Pixo, otherwise plain branding would be not a pleasant sight.IIRC earlier too VW sold Toyota pick up in some South American markets..

[Live To Jive]

Originally Posted by longhorn

The old WagonR (3rd gen I believe) is already being sold in Europe as Opel /Vauxhall. Some minor changes are done so that it doesn't look like an exact copy of the Suzuki WagonR but it's basically the same car. The changes are something like what they did when they launched the WagonR here as opposed to what it look like in the JDM.

The Gen 3 Wagon R is an exact copy of the Opel Agila which was sold in Europe when Maruti was selling the Gen 2 Wagon R in India.

[Amartya]

Originally Posted by absynthguzzler

But what would cars based on WagonR and Ritz platform mean? Its still not German Engineering for me !. I wish they would have done this whole thing behind closed doors and just came out with the cars .

Don't worry about the engineering (core engineering, like the monocoque, the engine and gearbox etc.), the Japanese are just as good as the Germans. As long as the trim is superior and the panels are thicker than the ones on Suzuki models, it's fine.

I sure will be glad though, if VW just uses the platforms, because the new Wagon R and the Ritz are both designs that I am not fond of.

[Parm]

Following the 20% stake acquisition in Suzuki (the parent group of Maruti Suzuki) by Volkswagen, the two giants have started looking at synergies. As expected, India is the prime market for this european – japanese tie-up and things have started unfolding. NDTV reports that Maruti may produce cars based on Ritz and new Wagon-R (2010) for Volkswagen and Skoda brands. Maruti will produce cars for Volkswagen group and re-badged as Volkswagen/Skoda. It adds that Volkswagen will also source DDIS (diesel) and K-series engine (petrol) for these cars. Going through the details, it lookalike Maruti – Nissan deal might be replicated (Maruti produces A-star for Nissan which is re-badged as Nissan Pixo and being sold across europe.)

why dont you guys read and understand whats written or said in the news?

most of the guys are posting their comments after reading the heading and not going through the whole news!

none of these VW branded cars will be sold in india, only exported!

its called platform sharing between the OEMs for reducing the costs.

how many people know the Chevy cars sold in india are actually Daewoo cars?

Chevy is doing the same what VW plans to do!

[absynthguzzler]

Volkswagen-Suzuki may use Maruti models in India
Siddharth Vinayak Patankar, 27 April 2010 (New Delhi)
After taking 20 per cent stake in Suzuki, in December last year, Volkswagen had said that it would find Suzuki's expertise in small cars most useful in markets like India.

Now, NDTV has exclusive details on the first moves under this alliance that may go a long way in the Volkswagen Group's plans of having greater control on the Indian car market.

Volkswagen is keen on using existing Maruti models in India for its own brands.

NDTV learnt from sources in the Volkswagen Group that it has asked its Indian operations to send proposals on Maruti models.

The new Wagon R and Ritz are being considered for Skoda, Volkswagen brands in India. The A-Star was rejected by Volkswagen for India and other markets as it is seen as being very small. Skoda's proposal includes diesel and CNG variants. The plan includes using Maruti's K-series petrol and DDiS diesel engines.

Both the companies have offered no formal statements on the potential alliance but Maruti does confirm that Volkswagen has begun examining Maruti's cost-competitive manufacturing and its models.

Shinzo Nakanishi, MD of Maruti Suzuki India Ltd, said, “This will be a good move for Maruti, which will see volumes increasing while also maintaining margins on the models in question.”
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Mahantesh Sabarad, a senior analyst at Fortune Equity Brokers, said, "It does provide them extra revenue and does add to the margin but typically these will be manufacturing margins that they will capture, not the entire margins in the value chain. But it's a welcome boost in the margins in any case."

The proposals are being studied at Volkswagen headquarters and a final picture will emerge in 2 or 3 months.

If the plan goes through, the cars would be rebadged and will also carry higher spec interiors. The prices for these cars are likely to be about 3-5 per cent higher than the corresponding Maruti model.
However, there are some worry areas also.

Volkswagen prefers that the cars are assembled at its own plant in Chakan. The Ritz already sells as the Opel Agila in Europe, so Volkswagen may not want it. Also, Maruti's diesel engines are licensed from Fiat and that could be a spoiler for Volkswagen.
Meanwhile, Suzuki is also examining the prospect of using Volkswagen's diesel engines and larger car platforms for its products and while some of that may trickle down to its Indian subsidiary, it’s not a priority in the short term.

So it is Maruti after all although the title has now been changed to Suzuki. Daewoo is no more , so it doesn't hold true in this discussion just because Chevy is selling those cars now. The point im tryin to make is

Volkswagen had said that it would find Suzuki's expertise in small cars most useful in markets like India.

This would mean we cannot just assume that the Indian market will be ignored. No one is assuming or misquoting things here . We are all just recording the incidents as played by the media and discussing the possible future.

[StarrySky]

Just saw the report again on TV. The plans are for India. It says the interiors will be upgraded and the price difference would be about 5% higher than corresponding Maruti models.

i dont see that happening here in india, VW using Suzuki models and branding them as VW cars!

who will buy those VW branded Suzuki car, when people know the real cost of those cars?