The Volkswagen Group has finally started launching vehicles under the India 2.0 strategy. After the Skoda Kushaq, Volkswagen will launch the all-new Taigun based on the MQB A0 IN platform soon. Volkswagen is now planning to enter the highly competitive and extremely popular sub-4m compact SUV in India.
Volkswagen will compete with well-established vehicles like the Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza, Hyundai Venue, Tata Nexon, Ford EcoSport, Kia Sonet, Mahindra XUV300 and more. Volkswagen has plans to invest over 1 billion euros in the Indian market. The all-new sub-4m compact SUV will be an all-new product that will be developed from the ground’s up.
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As per a report on the ET Auto, the Volkswagen Group is in the final stages of finalising the plan. If the new car, which is codenamed Project 2.5 gets a green light, it will first launch under the Skoda badge around 2023. However, like the Kushaq and Taigun, there is no plan to launch the vehicle under the Volkswagen badge in India as of now. The upcoming car will have a target of selling around 50,000 units per annum.
One should note that Skoda is heading the India 2.0 project for the Volkswagen Group. The German group has shared the responsibilities amongst its different brands to head and succeed in various countries. For India, Skoda is heading the project.
Sub-4m compact SUVs
The sub-4m compact SUV segment has seen unprecedented growth in the last few years. Manufacturers like Hyundai and Kia made their moves to enter the segment and both the vehicles are selling quite well. Even though the Volkswagen group will be a bit late to the party, we may get to see some interesting features and highlights that will differentiate the car from the existing models.
Depending on the success of the Skoda Kushaq, the upcoming Volkswagen Taigun and sedans, the Volkswagen Group will also decide the upcoming projects like 3.0 and 4.0. Most of the manufacturers churn out a major volume from the sub-4m compact SUV segment and the Volkswagen Group will aim for the same.
To be designed in Europe
Not many details are available on the sub-4m compact SUV. Volkswagen will design the car in Europe. However, the R&D will happen in India, which will ensure that the product has a localisation of over 95% to ensure a competitive price tag on the car.
The engine options are likely to come up from the existing line-up of petrol engines. The Volkswagen Group has ditched the diesel engines in India for the mass-segment cars. The upcoming sub-4m will also get only petrol engine options. Skoda and Volkswagen together hold less than 1.5% of the market share, which they aim to increase to more than 5% by 2025.
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