What Volkswagen India's SUVW Strategy Entails

How many times have you seen a Volkswagen Beetle and not given it another look? Well, the answer is zero and that's because its design is timeless, ageless. That's also why we can't help but look at the new gen models from Volkswagen India like the Jetta, Polo, Vento, Polo GTI or now even the Tiguan, T-Roc and even the Tiguan AllSpace. It's the design of all these cars evoke the same reaction - wow!

And it's because these cars have a strong lineage. They all are a culmination of what the company has been able to learn in so many years of being part of the global automotive fraternity. That's why you see the technology funnel down to cars like the Polo GT TSI making it one of the best hot hatches in the country. In fact, it was the car that started the hot hatch trend in India and remains to date one of the most loved driver's car in the country.

The 2020 Volkwsagen Polo GT TSI is offered with a new 1.0 litre turbo petrol engine and a new 6-speed automatic torque converter.

But with SUVs fast becoming a trend in global markets, VW had to go back to the drawing board and figure out what it could do. It's not as if the company had no SUV in the market earlier. Remember the Touareg? Yes, the one with the V6 engine. But it was ahead of its time, in fact, Indian buyers weren't looking at buying SUVs back then, they were more into sedans. But as the market matured, VW India adapted to the change. The big step then in the SUV direction was in 2017, when the company introduced customers to the 5-seater Tiguan.

With the Tiguan, Volkswagen tested the shores to understand the response and yes, it was a good one. The fact that you get German engineering, precision driving capabilities and of course great build quality, customers knew exactly what to expect from these products. And that was one reason why there's a more strong focus on bringing in SUVs to India under the India 2.0 Project.

The 5-seater Volkswagen Tiguan was introduced in 2017 and saw a fair amount of success in India

With the Group investing Rs. 8000 for the India 2.0 project, there was going to be a strong focus on three aspects a) building cars with high amount of localisation content, b) align the business to make sure that service costs come down and finally, make cars in India for the world!

The company has already inaugurated a tech centre in Pune in 2019 which will look into the development of these upcoming products but the attention is more on the new localised MQB-A0-IN platform. Just like the modular architecture of the MQB platform, where a number of body styles are made on a single platform, the A0-IN will also serve a similar purpose but given the high level of local content on the cars, all the products based on it will be price competitive. To put things into perspective, currently the localised content in VW cars like the Polo and Vento is around 82 per cent that will go up to 95 per cent and that's a massive leap.

The Volkswagen Taigun will be one of the first SUVs to be built on the new localised MQB-A0-IN platform

The first car to be based on this platform is going to be the Taigun which was showcased just ahead of the Auto Expo 2020 and you got to see the car in the flesh back then. And this car will lead the charge for everything that comes post it. Now, the Tiguan AllSpace and the T-Roc have already had their fair share of success, so yes, it's perfect timing for the Taigun to enter the market. The SUVW strategy then is falling into place and in 2021, we'll see the Taigun and one more product coming to India. We can't wait to drive everything that comes our way!