NEWS : Suzuki models to be branded as VW !

srishiva · 28th September 2010, 17:30

It should be called just 'R' since there is a wagon in Volks Wagon?

Anyway, its used to bring people into VW dealership with the hope that they will upgrade into VW cars later. There is nothing wrong in this and has been done elsewhere.

For people who are already associated with VW, they can buy a smaller car with the same manufacturer and get the same treatment.

28th September 2010, 21:35

Humm its most likely that VW will launch yet un-launched Suzuki models in the market because if they launched the models that have been already launched at a higher price "VW badge" people would prefer the Suzuki cheaper variant instead.

blackasta · 28th September 2010, 21:58

Quote:

Originally Posted by ajai_dev

Humm its most likely that VW will launch yet un-launched Suzuki models in the market because if they launched the models that have been already launched at a higher price "VW badge" people would prefer the Suzuki cheaper variant instead.

Kizashi may be launched as a VW - any takers?

Also -in UK the Opel Agila and Suzuki splash sell side by side, both being the exact same car (Maruti Ritz)

methecupid · 28th September 2010, 23:13

Quote:

Originally Posted by blackasta

Kizashi may be launched as a VW - any takers?

Also -in UK the Opel Agila and Suzuki splash sell side by side, both being the exact same car (Maruti Ritz)

I am amazed!! why on earth would you want a divisive strategy like that, this inspite the development being a concerted effort between the two car makers. I know the Chevy Optra is sold as the Suzuki Forenza in the USA. Never quite understood the logic behind it.

Axe77 · 29th September 2010, 05:50

Ouch!! So two perfectly reliable cars will now have to be purchased and serviced from the jokers at VW and Skoda.

That's two cars knocked off from potential purchase options IMO.

In the Indian context, its a step down to move from Maruti to VW / Skoda.

Bottom Torque · 29th September 2010, 13:11

Marutis to wear VW, Skoda badges | Autocar India

Hi friend,

I read this article in AutoCar India. It says Maruti A-Star and Wagon-R would get VW and Skoda badges by 2012. IMO, who would bother to buy a high priced Maruti even if it has a VW or Skoda badge? Whats your opinion? Do you think we are being abused ?

Here is the entire article content for your reference

Autocar India EXCLUSIVE!
India will be one of the first countries to see the effects of Volkswagen’s $2.5 billion investment in Suzuki for a 20 percent stake. With Maruti Suzuki cornering just under 50 percent of the market, India is clearly the most important market for Suzuki and VW sees a huge opportunity to piggyback on Maruti’s success.

Cooperation between VW and Suzuki has already begun at a high level and an organisation structure has been put in place for regular interactions between teams from Wolfsburg and Hamamatsu to jointly explore opportunities. For VW, India is a key market and the Suzuki alliance presents the German automaker with a huge range of possibilities in the small car segment.
The alliance with Suzuki coincides with VW’s decision to axe the Up!-based mini-car for India, but that would leave VW with no presence in the core segment of the Indian market below the Polo. Also, VW’s cost structure is too high for it to effectively compete in such segments that are super-sensitive to price. Yet, it’s a part of the market which no carmaker can afford to ignore.

However, Maruti’s dominance in the lower band of the market where VW is completely absent could prove to be a golden opportunity for German giant. The VW Group has identified two models from the Maruti stable that it is keen to rebadge as its own brands. According to company sources, at a meeting, Maruti, VW and Skoda India officials explored the possibility of putting a VW badge on the A-star and a Skoda badge on the WagonR.

The thinking is that the sophisticated looks, driving dynamics and overall
styling of the A-star are more suited for the VW badge while the WagonR with its roominess and space, a Skoda attribute too, is better suited for the Czech brand.

VW is keen to begin the its rebadging exercise as soon as possible and in fact, wants to have the VW- badged A-star and Skoda-badged WagonR in their respective showrooms as early as 2012. To meet this deadline, we understand that only minimal changes would be done. Reskinning is not feasible.

Apart from new lights, bumpers and grilles, the rebadged cars could end up looking unmistakably like Marutis. Even the interiors would remain largely untouched as a redesigned instrument panel will take too long develop.

Talks on powertrain sharing between the two companies are on and while the logical first step is to plonk a VW diesel under a Maruti hood, especially since Suzuki doesn’t have its own diesel motors, the reality is that it’s still cheaper to use a Fiat Multi-jet (even after paying license fees to Fiat) because of the huge amount of investment that’s gone into localisation of the Multi-jet.
In fact, VW is looking at some of Suzuki’s motors and indications are that VW engineers have been greatly impressed with the K-series engine, especially the 1.2 litre. We wouldn’t be surprised if these motors ended up under the hood of a future VW or Skoda. It is not clear where these ‘Volkzukis’ will be made. Again, it would be logical for Maruti to produce them for VW and Skoda in the same way it produces the A-star as the Pixo for Nissan. However, Maruti has huge capacity constraints at present, which may not be freed up by 2012. VW has a huge plant at Chakan with capacity to fill and may consider this location to produce VW’s A00 platform cars.

Both VW and Suzuki are totally mum on the subject and are unlikely to announce any cooperation immediately. But VW is in a big hurry to expand its presence here and the alliance with Suzuki will play a key role in VW’s big ambitions on the sub-continent.

Source Link: Marutis to wear VW, Skoda badges | Autocar India

bkbkr1212 · 29th September 2010, 13:51

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bottom Torque

Marutis to wear VW, Skoda badges | Autocar India

Hi friend,

I read this article in AutoCar India. It says Maruti A-Star and Wagon-R would get VW and Skoda badges by 2012. IMO, who would bother to buy a high priced Maruti even if it has a VW or Skoda badge? Whats your opinion? Do you think we are being abused ?

Source Link: Marutis to wear VW, Skoda badges | Autocar India

Yes my friend, there will be lots of people who will go for it.
In India, the badge is what matters. 90% of the buyers look for badge(including most of the so called petrol heads in this forum) without even understanding/bothering what's beneath the hood.

Except for Maruti and Hyundai(maybe Tata and Mahindra too) all the manufacturers can give any crap,overpriced vehicle and we will gobble it with that stupid glee in our eyes. We are Indians....Anything *phoren*, are always welcome (except Chinese

)

It's like stuff in joke-thread. Guys make fun of others thinking them as jokes, but actually the so-called "joke" is not a joke and our enlightened "petrol heads" post it here without even checking whether joke is a joke or a fact.

GTO · 30th September 2010, 11:55

People buy Maruti's for VFM & hassle-free ownership. They know a Maruti will have flimsy build & strictly average quality, but will deliver on many years of reliability & fuel-efficiency, backed by a strong service network and decent resale value.

People buy VWs for a solid build, brand, diesels, interior quality and features. They know a VW will be more expensive to buy & own, the reliability won't be anywhere near the Japanese, and the after-sales is yet suspect.

I don't see any similarity in their positioning at all. Why on earth would anyone buy a VW WagonR that is the exact opposite of what German cars have stood for?

My suggestion to VW : In the short-term, use Maruti's unbeatable sales & service network. In the longer term, explore platform sharing, diesel engines, learning value-engineering etc. But for heaven's sake, leave the Wagon R out of this!

ashutoshb · 6th October 2010, 04:25

If they have made up their mind that they will launch rebadged Suzukis, my opinion would be that they should avoid products which are already in the market.

Even though we have most of models available in India, which are there in Suzuki's global portfolio, the likes of a VW Cervo can be a good start.

umeshnair · 7th October 2010, 09:55

Quote:

Originally Posted by ram17bhp

Is VW busying out any stake in MSIL ? Or just wanted to aquire both models ? Well if thats the case then what happens to the previous owners of wagon r and ritz ? how about the service of those cars is VW going to service them or Maruti ?

OT: My friend was inclined in buying a polo , now I can suggest him a wagon-r saying its a VW

VW already owns ~20% stake in Suzuki worldwide!!

anilisanil · 6th December 2010, 11:29

Note to moderator: This is a month old news, I did a quick search and did not find any relavant thread. If there is one, apologies and please do the needful.

Just came to know an interesting piece of news:

Rendering - Volkswagen's A-Star | Indian Autos blog

Quote:

Speculation is rife on Volkwagen adopting the Suzuki A-Star (Suzuki Alto to our overseas readers) and positioning it under the Polo as its entry-level model for India. Some say that VW has shelved the Lupo (Up! hatchback) as it is not possible for them to price it under the Polo in India.
Our country hasn’t witnessed badge engineering operations before and neither do we want to. We have welcomed cars sharing engines and platforms with open arms, but we aren’t fools to buy a rebadged car even if the reworked car is priced a shade lower.
Autocar India reported that minimal changes will be made to the A-Star’s skin if Volkswagen are really to use this as their entry level model by 2012. A more powerful petrol engine under the hood will be a chief dissimilarity, Autocar reports. We drove the A-Star AT in August and were thoroughly impressed with the 3-cylinder engine’s performance which is acknowledged by the majority as the benchmark in small hatch segment. We don’t see a point in dropping a larger engine under the A-Star’s hood. Volkswagen should have ruled this option out.
The only way Volkswagen will create inroads with the A-Star is with perhaps a 1.0-liter diesel engine. But where will that engine come from?
Maruti Suzuki manufactures the Nissan Pixo which is a similar case. The A-Star’s front-end and badges have been swapped. The car’s then loaded on to a ship and sent to Europe where it pretends to be a Nissan to customers.
The A-Star is a very able small car, but in India it has failed to create any major upsets. The Hyundai i10 continues to ride to victory in that segment year after year. If Autocar are to be believed, we’re yet to understand why Volkswagen has chosen the A-Star to be part of its pack in India. We’re also not able to understand why Volkswagen wants to badge engineer an A-Star.
Source – Autocar India

Read more: Rendering - Volkswagen's A-Star | Indian Autos blog

aaggoswami · 6th December 2010, 11:48

Read this news sometime back on net and in ACI. There are plans to come up with a Skoda badge on new Waggie and VW badge on A-star. But I doubt this is going to happen anytime soon. And if it takes time, the products will be a bit old for sort of badge engineering.
I believe that these are just internet rumors as of now as Suzuki and VW are still exploring various options. I am not sure that VW will just jump in and put its badge on Suzuki cars for Indian market or any other market. Image of VW is higher than Suzuki, so VW will think more than twice IMO before doing something of this extent. Anyways, I am against this because I believe that new Swift with VW badge will do more wonders than A-star or Waggie. VW should focus on cars like Swift rather than smaller cars like Waggie and A-star.

anilisanil · 6th December 2010, 11:53

I think the strategy is to have a car that is at a lesser price segment than Polo and hence this act. As we know Nissan already does the rebadging act calling the a-star a Pixo in its European market. However, this has resurfaced as VW sees that it is impossible to put its Up! a segment lower than Polo.

iSpoke · 22nd February 2011, 11:30

An update:
22 Feb, 2011
Source: EconomicsTimes linky

Quote:

NEW DELHI: India's largest automobile company Maruti Suzuki will supply its latest compact car A-Star to Volkswagen AG . The car, which will undergo some modifications and design changes, will be sold in India and Asian markets under a new brand, according to senior officials in the automobile industry.

I wonder what will happen to the "build like a tank" image of VW (or European cars in general) when it will start selling modified A-Star by rebadging in India?

CARDEEP · 22nd February 2011, 11:57

Quote:

Originally Posted by iSpoke

An update:
22 Feb, 2011
Source: EconomicsTimes linky

I wonder what will happen to the "build like a tank" image of VW (or European cars in general) when it will start selling modified A-Star by rebadging in India?

I modern tin lizzy in the making.

28th September 2010, 17:30	#61
srishiva Senior - BHPian Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Bengaluru Posts: 4,375 Thanked: 2,256 Times	It should be called just 'R' since there is a wagon in Volks Wagon? Anyway, its used to bring people into VW dealership with the hope that they will upgrade into VW cars later. There is nothing wrong in this and has been done elsewhere. For people who are already associated with VW, they can buy a smaller car with the same manufacturer and get the same treatment.
	() Thanks

28th September 2010, 21:35	#62
ajai_dev Posts: n/a	Humm its most likely that VW will launch yet un-launched Suzuki models in the market because if they launched the models that have been already launched at a higher price "VW badge" people would prefer the Suzuki cheaper variant instead.
	() Thanks

29th September 2010, 05:50	#65
Axe77 Team-BHP Support Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Mumbai Posts: 6,928 Thanked: 20,673 Times	Ouch!! So two perfectly reliable cars will now have to be purchased and serviced from the jokers at VW and Skoda. That's two cars knocked off from potential purchase options IMO. In the Indian context, its a step down to move from Maruti to VW / Skoda.
	() Thanks

29th September 2010, 13:11	#66
Bottom Torque BHPian Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Chennai Posts: 86 Thanked: 55 Times	Rebadging Saga - Maruti A-Star will become VW A-Star. Maruti Wagon-R to become Skoda! Marutis to wear VW, Skoda badges \| Autocar India Hi friend, I read this article in AutoCar India. It says Maruti A-Star and Wagon-R would get VW and Skoda badges by 2012. IMO, who would bother to buy a high priced Maruti even if it has a VW or Skoda badge? Whats your opinion? Do you think we are being abused ? Here is the entire article content for your reference Autocar India EXCLUSIVE! India will be one of the first countries to see the effects of Volkswagen’s $2.5 billion investment in Suzuki for a 20 percent stake. With Maruti Suzuki cornering just under 50 percent of the market, India is clearly the most important market for Suzuki and VW sees a huge opportunity to piggyback on Maruti’s success. Cooperation between VW and Suzuki has already begun at a high level and an organisation structure has been put in place for regular interactions between teams from Wolfsburg and Hamamatsu to jointly explore opportunities. For VW, India is a key market and the Suzuki alliance presents the German automaker with a huge range of possibilities in the small car segment. The alliance with Suzuki coincides with VW’s decision to axe the Up!-based mini-car for India, but that would leave VW with no presence in the core segment of the Indian market below the Polo. Also, VW’s cost structure is too high for it to effectively compete in such segments that are super-sensitive to price. Yet, it’s a part of the market which no carmaker can afford to ignore. However, Maruti’s dominance in the lower band of the market where VW is completely absent could prove to be a golden opportunity for German giant. The VW Group has identified two models from the Maruti stable that it is keen to rebadge as its own brands. According to company sources, at a meeting, Maruti, VW and Skoda India officials explored the possibility of putting a VW badge on the A-star and a Skoda badge on the WagonR. The thinking is that the sophisticated looks, driving dynamics and overall styling of the A-star are more suited for the VW badge while the WagonR with its roominess and space, a Skoda attribute too, is better suited for the Czech brand. VW is keen to begin the its rebadging exercise as soon as possible and in fact, wants to have the VW- badged A-star and Skoda-badged WagonR in their respective showrooms as early as 2012. To meet this deadline, we understand that only minimal changes would be done. Reskinning is not feasible. Apart from new lights, bumpers and grilles, the rebadged cars could end up looking unmistakably like Marutis. Even the interiors would remain largely untouched as a redesigned instrument panel will take too long develop. Talks on powertrain sharing between the two companies are on and while the logical first step is to plonk a VW diesel under a Maruti hood, especially since Suzuki doesn’t have its own diesel motors, the reality is that it’s still cheaper to use a Fiat Multi-jet (even after paying license fees to Fiat) because of the huge amount of investment that’s gone into localisation of the Multi-jet. In fact, VW is looking at some of Suzuki’s motors and indications are that VW engineers have been greatly impressed with the K-series engine, especially the 1.2 litre. We wouldn’t be surprised if these motors ended up under the hood of a future VW or Skoda. It is not clear where these ‘Volkzukis’ will be made. Again, it would be logical for Maruti to produce them for VW and Skoda in the same way it produces the A-star as the Pixo for Nissan. However, Maruti has huge capacity constraints at present, which may not be freed up by 2012. VW has a huge plant at Chakan with capacity to fill and may consider this location to produce VW’s A00 platform cars. Both VW and Suzuki are totally mum on the subject and are unlikely to announce any cooperation immediately. But VW is in a big hurry to expand its presence here and the alliance with Suzuki will play a key role in VW’s big ambitions on the sub-continent. Source Link: Marutis to wear VW, Skoda badges \| Autocar India Attached Thumbnails
	() Thanks

30th September 2010, 11:55	#68
GTO Team-BHP Support Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Bombay Posts: 70,546 Thanked: 300,788 Times View My Garage	People buy Maruti's for VFM & hassle-free ownership. They know a Maruti will have flimsy build & strictly average quality, but will deliver on many years of reliability & fuel-efficiency, backed by a strong service network and decent resale value. People buy VWs for a solid build, brand, diesels, interior quality and features. They know a VW will be more expensive to buy & own, the reliability won't be anywhere near the Japanese, and the after-sales is yet suspect. I don't see any similarity in their positioning at all. Why on earth would anyone buy a VW WagonR that is the exact opposite of what German cars have stood for? My suggestion to VW : In the short-term, use Maruti's unbeatable sales & service network. In the longer term, explore platform sharing, diesel engines, learning value-engineering etc. But for heaven's sake, leave the Wagon R out of this!
	() Thanks

6th October 2010, 04:25	#69
ashutoshb Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: NOIDA Posts: 1,760 Thanked: 4,291 Times View My Garage	If they have made up their mind that they will launch rebadged Suzukis, my opinion would be that they should avoid products which are already in the market. Even though we have most of models available in India, which are there in Suzuki's global portfolio, the likes of a VW Cervo can be a good start. Attached Thumbnails
	() Thanks

6th December 2010, 11:48	#72
aaggoswami Senior - BHPian Join Date: May 2007 Location: Vadodara Posts: 4,982 Thanked: 2,931 Times	Read this news sometime back on net and in ACI. There are plans to come up with a Skoda badge on new Waggie and VW badge on A-star. But I doubt this is going to happen anytime soon. And if it takes time, the products will be a bit old for sort of badge engineering. I believe that these are just internet rumors as of now as Suzuki and VW are still exploring various options. I am not sure that VW will just jump in and put its badge on Suzuki cars for Indian market or any other market. Image of VW is higher than Suzuki, so VW will think more than twice IMO before doing something of this extent. Anyways, I am against this because I believe that new Swift with VW badge will do more wonders than A-star or Waggie. VW should focus on cars like Swift rather than smaller cars like Waggie and A-star.
	() Thanks

6th December 2010, 11:53	#73
anilisanil Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Pune Posts: 1,420 Thanked: 291 Times	I think the strategy is to have a car that is at a lesser price segment than Polo and hence this act. As we know Nissan already does the rebadging act calling the a-star a Pixo in its European market. However, this has resurfaced as VW sees that it is impossible to put its Up! a segment lower than Polo.
	() Thanks