Team-BHP - VW UP - their planned car for India ???

Is this the shape of things to come, or a return to Volkswagen's roots? The UP! concept is a bit of both. The minicar prototype "is what the Volkswagen brand has stood for since it started," declared the automaker's CEO, Martin Winterkorn, "affordable mobility for everybody."

Though the four-seater on display at this year's Frankfurt Motor Show is only a concept vehicle, company officials did little to hide the fact that something very similar will be hitting the highways, most likely by the 2010 model year. And as the first of what has been dubbed the NSF, or New Small Family, platform, Winterkorn suggested that several variants on the theme will likely follow.

Specific details were sparse, though the CEO noted UP! has a rear-mounted engine

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Originally Posted by Mpower (Post 560805)

Makes me wonder, why aren't more car using the rear engine layout. Why dosent it work for larger cars?

I guess multiple factors including unusual layout so increased costs to execute, problem with customers accepting this layout in big i.e. expensive cars, controlling the rear-biased handling etc.

Yes, Porsche has tamed it well but it's taken them over 3 decades to do so & even then they manufacture a car with a pretty steep price tag & a limited audience (relatively).

Source : Economic Times, 12th Sep 2007

EUROPE’S largest car manufacturer, Volkswagen, unveiled its latest people’s car, christened Up!, at the Frankfurt Auto show on Monday. The company plans to launch the model in India by 2010 at a price that will suit Indian pockets. Commenting on the company’s plans, Volkswagen CEO & chairman of the board Martin Winterkorn told ET, “We will manufacture Up! for emerging markets like India, Russia and China.” India is an important market for us, he said.

Price-sensitive Indian customers are likely to get Up! about 40% cheaper compared to Europeans buyers. Commenting on the pricing, Mr Winterkorn said, “The car will cost about € 6,000 (Rs 3,30,000) for Indian customers while it would be sold for € 10,000 euros (Rs 5,50,000) in Europe.” The rear-engined, three-door machine, with sat-nav and an onboard computer, is still at the concept stage. That means the company is yet to take a final call on manufacturing it.

The year 2010 is beginning to look like an interesting year for small car users. Major car manufacturers like Toyota, Honda and Renault are likely to hit the Indian roads with small car models by then. Interestingly, Tata Motors’ much-awaited Rs 1-lakh car is also likely to be available around then. This may trigger a fierce competition among the global car manufacturers in the Indian market, said auto specialists at the show, a premier global auto industry event.

Joerg Mueller, president, VW India, said, “The Indian market is competitive and we will fight competition through our product innovations, technology, brand and affordable pricing.” The Up! will cater to the new and small family platform. The car is about 136-inch long and 64-inch wide with seating for four. The vehicle will have rear-wheel drive and modest luggage space under the hood. It would be powered by three-cylinder engine with direct fuel injection.

Wow. VW is on a big wild dream which will turn into a nightmare by the time we reach 2010. What they seem to have totally unaccounted for is that the level of localization of components should be close to 90% if they have to come anywhere close to that price and they have not factored in the inflation. I am sure even Maruti alto base version will be higher than 3.3L in 2010. Maybe even that TATA 1L car would have become 3.3L by then;).

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Originally Posted by theMAG (Post 561371)

I never would have guessed they were loss making.

Germany has a special 'Volkswagen Law' that protects from VW being taken over

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On March 26, 2007 Porsche took its holding of Volkswagen shares to 30.9%, triggering a takeover bid under German law. Porsche formally announced in a press statement that it did not intend to take over Volkswagen (it would set its offer price at the lowest possible legal value), but intended the move to avoid a competitor taking a large stake or to stop hedge funds dismantling VW, which is Porsche's most important partner[4]. Porsche's move comes after the European Union moved against a German law that protected VW from takeovers. Under the so-called "Volkswagen Law", any shareholder in VW cannot exercise more than 20% of the firm's voting rights, regardless of their level of stock holding. The European Court of Justice has already indicated that the law probably breaks EU rules, and a full judgement to that effect is expected later in 2007 [5].

The Up is now getting a tall boy/ van look with the Space Up concept showcased at the LA auto show. The car has fuel cell technology but that was expected in zero emission crazy LA. For countries like ours this could be a good variant along with the 'shorter' up. This could take on the Wagon R, splash, Santro, maybe even the Versa and the Omni. What say?

The front seems like a more modern form of the legendary VW Bus.

Source: Auto Index.

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Originally Posted by Mayavi (Post 561940)

Germany has a special 'Volkswagen Law' that protects from VW being taken over

In oct 2007, The European Court of Justice had finally ruled that the law restricts the free movement of capital, criticising in particular the 20% voting cap, the 80% voting threshold for resolutions normally needing 75%, and Lower Saxony’s right to appoint two supervisory board members.

However the German parliament could take about six months to implement the ruling. It has to assess what changes are needed to the VW law to comply with the ECJ decision.

Porsche added to its stake in VW in March 2007 to 30.9%, which triggered a takeover bid under German law. It had started increasing its stake during 2005 because by then the European Commission was planning to force a change in the VW law. That has now happened although the actual implementation could take some months.

Of course, Porsche increase its equity share in VW to 30.9% in March 2007, when the VW law was (and is) still in effect, but the VW law limited an individual shareholder's percentage of voting rights to 20% regardless of the stake. Hope you see the difference.