Volkswagen India to launch a slew of new models in 2017

The Dollar Business Bureau

Volkswagen has expressed need for a change in its strategy towards the Indian market. The German automaker, which entered the Indian market 10 years ago, said that it is still learning and it's assumptions with respect to India before it launched Polo and Vento at the very onset of its entry into India might not have been 100% right.

Volkswagen's revised strategy aims to transmogrify its brand image by projecting itself as an 'affordable premium brand'. The luxury brand seeks an overhaul of its Indian operations by boosting localisation and bringing to India many more feature-packed fresh models in the coming years.

The world-renowned automobile giant is set to launch more models to pursue a rigorous expansion of its product line in India. The Passat and the Tiguan, two of its international models, are going to be introduced in India this year. The brand is hitting every segment starting from Ameo in compact sedans and eyeing the SUV and luxury categories with Tiguan and Passat respectively. The constantly evolving Indian strategy of the firm aspires to have 'something' for everyone, be it a performance car or a high end luxury model.

Volkswagen India's ongoing 10th anniversary celebrations are being accompanied by 10% discounts on its flagship models Polo, Vento and Ameo. The company's manufacturing facility at Pune registered a record production of 1,45,145 units in 2016, which is 17% up from 2015. The plant at Pune has an annual capacity of 2,00,000 units. The 2016 production stood at 72.5% of the total capacity. Spread over 101 cities, Volkswagen has 113 service centres complementing a whopping 119 showrooms.