VW Adds Third Shift at Pune Facility in Anticipation of Ameo Launch

Volkswagen Ameo, the German carmaker's upcoming sub-compact sedan, is scheduled to be launched in India by mid-2016. In anticipation of the sedan's arrival in the country, which is still a few months away, Volkswagen has added a third shift at its Pune facility. Currently Volkswagen Polo, Vento, and Skoda Rapid are manufactured at the VW manufacturing facility in Chakan, Pune. The 1.5-litre TDI engine is also assembled here. As far as VW Ameo goes, it will be added to the production line later this year.

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Dr. Andreas Lauermann, President and Managing Director, Volkswagen India Private Limited, said, "In 2016, we are expecting growth in our domestic as well as export volumes. With the new Ameo, a car that has been specially developed for India, we are expecting a higher demand from the domestic Indian market while we look at supplying more cars to our export markets too. In all, we expect to increase our production by around 15% this year as compared to the last one."

Volkswagen's Pune Plant that rolled out the first car in March, 2009 produced 123,456 cars in a two-shift system in 2015. However, factoring in the rising demand for exports along with the high volumes expected from the all-new Volkswagen Ameo sedan lead to the addition of an extra shift at the plant.

Volkswagen India has invested nearly Euro 800 million at the plant so far and employees over 4000 people. With the integration of the third shift at the plant, the carmaker has already added approximately 800 new employees in the first step. However, VW expects to add more employees as its production goes up through the year.

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