Volkswagen Ameo
Volkswagen commenced multi-city road show ahead of the Ameo launch from May 12. Pictured: Volkswagen AmeoPR handout

Volkswagen will launch its first car designed and manufactured for India, the Ameo compact sedan, in mid-June. The German car-maker commenced taking bookings for the Ameo on May 12 for a token amount of Rs. 10,000. The dealerships will start delivery of the Ameo from the first week of July.

Developed at the Volkswagen's manufacturing facility in Chakan, Maharashtra, the Ameo features the highest percentage of localisation in any VW car sold in the country. Unveiled at the Auto Expo 2016 in February, the Ameo will be sold with petrol and diesel mills. The 1.2-litre three-cylinder MPI petrol engine will churn out 74bhp of power and 110Nm of peak torque, while the 1.5-litre four-cylinder TDI diesel engine will develop 89bhp of power and 230Nm of torque. The diesel engine will come mated to a five-speed manual gearbox and seven-speed DSG transmission, while the petrol engine will be mated to five-speed manual transmission.

Similar to other models of Volkwagen in India, the Ameo will be sold in three variants — Trendline, Comfortline and Highline. All the variants of the Ameo will be fitted with dual front airbags and ABS as standard.

Variant-wise features

Trendline: Body-coloured bumpers, wing mirrors and door handles, door mirrors with turn indicators, heat-insulating glass, flat-bottomed steering wheel, sunglass-holder inside glove box, folding rear-seat backrest, front power windows, central locking, tilt and telescopic steering.

Comfortline: Dual-tone interior, cruise control, height-adjustable driver's seat, electrically-adjustable ORVMs, front and rear power windows, infotainment system with CD/MP3/USB/AUX-in/SD card and Bluetooth as well as iPod connectivity.

Highline: Leather-wrapped steering wheel and gear knob, steering-mounted controls, automatic wipers, reverse-parking camera, reverse-parking sensors, front armrest with rear AC vent, electrically-foldable ORVMs, rear defogger and touchscreen MirrorLink system.

The Ameo compact sedan will go up against Maruti Suzuki Swift DZire, Honda Amaze, Ford Figo Aspire, Tata Zest and Hyundai Xcent. The VW car is expected to come in the range of Rs. 5 lakh to Rs. 8 lakh.

[1 lakh = 100,000 | 1 crore = 10 million | 100 crore = 1 billion]