Volkswagen will launch hatchback as well as sedan models based on the Polo platform in India next year. Both will be built in the automaker’s new Pune facility which is being inaugurated on Tuesday.
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With these launches, India would become the only market where both versions of the Polo are made available simultaneously.
The hatchback – modified to suit Indian conditions – would be launched in the first quarter of 2010 and the sedan version would be out by the second half.
A VW spokesperson told DNA Money that both Polo variants would be positioned at the premium end of their respective segments. He also confirmed VW’s plans to bring the Beetle into India by the end of 2009.
The 110,000 unit greenfield manufacturing site at Chakan (Pune) would initially begin making the Skoda Fabia from May this year. The Fabia is currently being manufactured at the company’s facility in Aurangabad.
The plant is important for VW’s operations in India since it would provide a significant increase in the manufacturing capacity – Aurangabad can make only 30,000 cars a year.
There is a possibility of cannibalisation of Fabia sales by the Polo hatchback – both cars would be positioned at the premium price bracket and carry the same lineage.
Like many other multinational car makers, the VW group has made a clear distinction between the manufacturing and marketing/sales functions for each of its brands in India.
