Volkswagen’s surge to power globally has been phenomenal and the brands they own have been influential in making them one of the most successful auto conglomerates in history. Volkswagen India though, which began operations officially in 2007 is still at a very nascent stage in terms of sales but we always feel they have the potential to grow leaps and bounds with the correct product portfolio.
This is exactly what the company is planning to do – increase their number of offerings! According to Autocar, they have planned as many as 4 new launches for India in the next two years!
This list includes a sub 4 meter compact sedan, the executive updated Passat, new Beetle and the Tiguan SUV.
The compact sedan would be one of the not-many country-specific products for Volkswagen and will be based on Polo. It has been snapped on test in India and we expect it to be unveiled at the Auto Expo early next year. It will not just be based on the PQ25 platform but will also be powered by the new 1.5 litre diesel seen in Polo. They may also use the same 1.2 liter 3 cylinder petrol engine but we hope there are some variants with the more deserving 1.2 liter turbocharged TSI!
Autocar has also put up a story which says that Volkswagen is considering naming the ICS (Internal codename shortform for Indian Compact Sedan) based on ‘some’ wind as is their trend. They may be working on names which include Bora and Derby.
The new 2015 Passat is expected to hit the Indian turf soon and is considerably larger and lighter than the existing version thanks to the MQB platform’s versatility. It will be powered by a four pot 2.0 litre diesel mill producing around 180 PS of power and 400 Nm of torque. The D-segmenter will be priced higher than the present iteration and will now be positioned against the more premium sedans by its German rivals.
The new Beetle, based on the PQ35 platform is also scheduled to be brought back as a premium offering and as more of a brand building product which may not yield great volumes.
We will also be getting the next generation Tiguan SUV which is anticipated to arrive at the Frankfurt Auto Show. Once again based on the MQB platform, the new Tiguan will be available as a 5 seater as well as a 7 seater variant.
