Volkswagen (VW) Group, the German auto major is one of the largest automakers in the world. However, the performance of VW in India—one of the most evolving car markets in the world—is below expectations. Despite having a presence in India over 17 years (Skoda India began sales in 2001), VW Group's total market share is less than 10 percent.
The scene is about to change as VW Group is set to undergo a massive restructuring in India. The auto major is eying for a strong comeback in the mass-market space of India and plans to invest 1 billion pounds (approximately Rs 8,000 crore), reports Autocar. Volkswagen's mass market subsidiary Skoda will be spearheading new revival plan, the report adds.
As part of the new plan, Skoda is reportedly planning to take over Volkswagen's Chakan plant in Pune. The huge investment will see retooling the structure of the plant to make it ready to produce vehicles based on the new and advanced MQB platform of VW group.
The MQB production line will be built in parallel to the current PQ25 platform that underpins current cars of VW and its subsidiaries such as Skoda Rapid, Volkswagen Vento, Ameo, and Polo. The group is planning to phase out PQ25 platform based cars by 2020.
The fresh line-up cars from VW group will be based on the MQB platform. A Hyundai Creta rivaling compact SUV from Skoda's stable will be the first product followed by its VW counterpart. However, both compact SUVs will not be badge-engineering like the Vento and Rapid.
The Skoda SUV is expected to take design cues from the Vision X concept unveiled at the ongoing 2018 Geneva Motor Show while the compact SUV from VW brand will be inspired by the T-Cross. The compact SUV of Skoda will be slotted below its Karoq and Kodiaq SUVs while VW model will be the second SUV for India as the only other model is the Tiguan.
The compact SUV will be followed by a sedan and a hatchback for each of the respective brands, again based on the MQB platform. The new sedans will be either copiously reworked Skoda Rapid and Volkswagen Vento or two all-new models replacing both these cars.
The MQB based hatchback from VW is expected to be the six-generation Polo while the Skoda counterpart is believed to be the new generation Fabia. In that case, it will be the return of Fabia nameplate to India after it was discontinued in 2014.
Source: Autocar
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