Volkswagen Archives - Indiandrives.com

October 12, 2015

New Top End Volkswagen Vento Trim with Navigation Launched

Volkswagen Vento has just got a new addition – a new Highline Plus trim. Although no mechanical changes can be seen in this new Vento, it does come with certain important updates. With all the available additional features the new Vento will cost Rs.27,750 plus taxes over and above the price of the Vento Highline trim.

Black roof, body colored side mountings, window blinds, scuff plates and black ORVMs make the new Vento look much sportier compared to the standard Vento Highline. However, the most important update that has been made to this car is the addition of a Blaupunkt music system with a seven-inch touchscreen navigation system. This will definitely give the Vento a boost vis-a-vis its competitors in the C-segment.

As we have mentioned earlier that no mechanical changes has been made to the car. So it will continue to be available in two engine variants that the current Vento is available in i.e. 1.6 MPI and 1.5 MPI. The car will be available with manual transmission

Purpose of launching so many limited edition cars is to cash in on the Indian festive season where customers typically look to buy new cars. How far successful Volkswagen would be in this endeavour given the stiff competition out there only time and sales figures at the end of this year tell.

October 12, 2015

Volkswagen Polo Exquisite Limited Edition Car Launched

Time is tough for Volkswagen. From emission scandal in the US to the recall of 389 Polos in India, Volkswagen seems to be fighting many battles at the same time. But even in this time, the company has some good news to offer to its customers. The German carmaker has now launched a limited edition Polo Exquisite in India.

The Exquisite comes with certain additional features over the standard Polo Highline variant. All changes are cosmetic in nature and do not add anything to the overall performance of the car. So no mechanical changes can be seen in the Exquisite.

Some of the changes made to the Exquisite are as follows:

Blacked out roof

Carbon finish ORVMs

Body coloured side mountings

Carbon fiber finish on the central console on the inside

New seat covers and floor mats

Scuff plates

Detachable made to size window blinds

All these and more will come at an additional cost of Rs.12,830 over and above the standard price of the Polo Highline trim.

No wonder Volkswagen officials are happy about the launch since the company has been facing a lot of flaks of late. So the Exquisite launch has come at a time of gloom and doom and Volkswagen is fully hoping to salvage its lost reputation through this car and many others that would come in the future. We wish them luck.

October 10, 2015

Delivery of Polo Stopped by Volkswagen India with Immediate Effect

It appears that things are going from bad to worse for Volkswagen. After the debacle on the emission software front, the company has stopped delivery of all models of the Polo in India citing ‘technical reasons’. The automaker has asked for stopping delivery with immediate effect and it is limited to a certain number of cars which belong to a particular production period.

As per the Volkswagen management, it has put deliveries on a temporary hold due to technical reasons and is presently evaluating the same. The delivery for those cars which are not affected by this will go on as per schedule. The company has also made it abundantly clear that it has nothing to do with the emission scandal that has rocked it presently.

The company though is yet to make it clear what exactly the technical issue is and which cars will be stopped from deliveries. The production period of cars to be affected is yet to be disclosed by the company and we can await more details on it soon.

Volkswagen was recently embroiled in an emissions scandal and has said that as many as 11 million of its vehicles may have been affected by it. The diesel engines are likely to be most affected by it and this includes those that presently power the Polo, Vento as well as the Skoda Rapid here in India. Volkswagen though is yet to provide clarity on the ongoing situation.

October 1, 2015

Diesel Vehicles Involved in Volkswagen Emission Scandal to be Recalled

It appears that the aftermath of the emissions scandal is taking shape at Volkswagen with the company soon to announce a recall for their vehicles in coming days. It is quite sad that the customers will have to face a massive setback as a result of this as the company will look to modify and amend the mistake.

As per Volkswagen, all the cars which have been hit by the scandal continue to be technically capable of being driven on the roads. This is significant because a whopping 11 million vehicles are part of this scandal.

Going forward, Volkswagen has said that they are working on developing technical solutions and will be presenting them to the relevant authorities by the end of October.

In terms of figures, five million of the eleven million affected cars belong to the Volkswagen brand while 2.1 are from Audi and 1.2 million are from Skoda stable. As per initial understanding, the emission cheating software will have to be refitted and the cars will have to be made compliant with existing emission norms.

The Volkswagen scandal has had the entire auto industry globally watching with the company coming under immense pressure in the light of these revelations. There has already been a rejig of the top management of the company with a new CEO being announced to help the company bounce back from the scandal. It is being hoped that this will lead to a better standard among automakers globally to avoid this in the future.

September 29, 2015

10-Speed DSG Gearbox from Volkswagen Put on Hold

The problems just seem to keep piling on for Volkswagen. After being hit by an emission scandal that could set back the company by almost USD 18 billion in fines alone, their new gearbox also appears to have been put on hold. The company had showcased a 10-speed DSG gearbox at the Vienna Engine Symposium in September and was going to act as a replacement to the present six-speed DSG from the manufacturer. Ironically, the idea behind this was the reduction of CO2 emissions from the Volkswagen line up. This gearbox was likely to be a feature on the next generation of cars from the company including the Passat, which was seen last year. Not only these, it was also to feature on cars from makers like Audi, Seat and Skoda. However, now all of that has been put in doubt with this announcement.

The reason that Volkswagen has given for this is that the project was becoming too complex and increasingly expensive. This will be a huge setback for the company though as they will not only lose more face in the emissions scandal but will also lose out to Mercedes Benz who has already adopted a more emission friendly transmission technology. Volkswagen does seem to be going through an extremely rough patch, but with the shakeup of the top management and the appointment of a new CEO one can expect that the company will be making some major announcements soon.

September 28, 2015

Volkswagen Announces Matthias Muller as Next CEO

The Volkswagen (VW) group have announced Matthias Muller as the CEO where he will be replacing Martin Winterkorn. Winterkorn resigned from his position following the emission scandal that has hit the company.

Mulller was seen as the frontrunner for the position ever since news of resignation broke and news agencies even quoted that he would get the job. He has also led Porsche in the past and this came amid various other major changes that VW announced with regards to its management structure.

Many key figures within the VW Group have also been suspended post the breaking of the scandal in keeping with the damage control mode that they have gone in to. The suspension will continue till a final investigation is made and an American law company has already been asked to take charge of investigations into the matter.

As per Matthias Muller, his biggest task immediately will be to get back the trust of the public that VW appears to have lost and will look to leave no stone unturned in making sure of the same. They will also do their most to have a stringent governance and compliance standards within the industry and if it manages to do so, it would return from the crisis stronger than it had been before.

Muller has been in charge of Lamborghini and Audi products since 2002 and has been responsible for all the VW Group product strategy since 2007, a move made by Winterkorn when he took the role of CEO.

September 22, 2015

Accusation of Cheating in US Emission Tests Made on Volkswagen

Audi and Volkswagen may be fined an amount as much as 18 billion USD or USD 37500 per car for cheating on emission regulation tests undertaken by the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) in the USA. It is alleged that Volkswagen used a particular software for 48,200 of its diesel cars in order to trick the tests. This device could detect when EPA tests were being undergone by the cars and thereby switch on all the emission control systems in the cars which would make them compliant. However, these controls were switched off when actual on road driving was taking place and this resulted in emissions that were as much as 40 times emission compliance standards.

VW has already issued an apology for this clear breach of trust and has said that it will cooperate fully with any agency responsible for the correction and will do that on an urgent and transparent basis. They have also ordered an external investigation into the matter and have reiterated that no violations of rules or law will be allowed by the company.

As per EPA, the cars which are undergoing investigation were emitting as much as 40 times the standard set nationally for nitrogen oxide. However, in spite of these accusations, the cars will continue to remain legal for sales and for driving. Volkswagen though will be issuing a recall on 500000 cars as per US regulatory requirements while sales of the newest Audi and Volkswagen models are also being put on hold.

September 16, 2015

Next-Gen Volkswagen Tiguan Officially Unveiled

Early 2016 will see the launch of the second gen Tiguan from Volkswagen in India, but the carmaker officially revealed the car at the ongoing Frankfurt Motor Show ahead of this launch.

The Tiguan has as many as four diesel and four petrol options in terms of engines. While the petrol options come within the 123bhp to 234bhp range, the diesel engines are available in the 118bhp to 240bhp range. Apart from the base variants, the other engine options will also be available with the 4MOTION AWD system with the Tiguan itself being available in the Trendline, ComfortLine and Highline variants.

The car is underpinned by the MQB platform and is now longer, larger and still about 50kg lighter as compared to the earlier generation model. The car has a revamped look as well and has all the elements of Volkswagen’s typical design. The Mk7 Golf family tie is unmistakable as a result of flared wheel arches, a strong shoulder line as well as a rear sloping roofline. There are wrap around tail lamps, outwardly sloping rear glass and a contrasted colour bumper which make the car look a tad sporty as well.

The car is to be manufactured at the Mexico facility of the carmaker and is to be made in both five as well as seven-seater configurations. However, there is yet to be a confirmed date for when the Tiguan will go into production even though the unveiling has already been done.

September 9, 2015

New and Updated Volkswagen Polo Launched at Rs.5.23 Lakhs

The Volkswagen Polo hatchback has received a mid-life upgrade and has been launched in India at Rs.5.23 lakhs (ex-showroom Mumbai). The new Polo has been made available at all Volkswagen showrooms across the country starting from September 1st.

The new Polo has been given some new features, but no mechanical changes have been made to the car. The car is still powered by 1.2-liter three-cylinder 75PS MPI engine with a peak torque of 110Nm, while the 1.5-liter diesel engine comes in two different variants – one with peak output of 90PS and peak torque of 230Nm, while another comes with peak output of 105PS and peak torque of 250Nm. Another 1.2-liter TSI engine with 105PS of peak power and 175Nm of peak torque is also available.

New features added to the Polo include electronically controlled wing mirrors with integrated turn indicators, new ORVMs, cooled glove compartment etc. Cruise control features have been added in the high-end Highline trim.

Prices of the different versions of the updated Volkswagen Polo are mentioned below:

Variants	Price (In Indian Rupees)
Polo 1.2 MPI	5,23,500
Polo 1.5 TDI	6,55,800
Cross Polo (Petrol)	7,04,384
Cross Polo (Diesel)	8,31,489
Polo GT TSI	8,41,466
Polo GT TDI	8,41,524

*All prices mentioned above are ex-showroom Mumbai

August 25, 2015

1 Lakh Volkswagen Vento Exported from India to Mexico

Within just two years of its launch, Volkswagen has exported 1 lakh units of the car from India to the North American country of Mexico. Replacing the Jetta in the Mexican market, the Vento has already become one of the most popular cars in that country. In fact, India made Vento has become so popular in Mexico that in the first half of 2015, it was amongst the top selling cars in that country.

It is the highest selling Volkswagen car in Mexico followed by the Polo hatch, which is incidentally, is also made in India and exported from here. All the cars that Volkswagen exports from India are made at its Chakhan facility.

Of course, people at Volkswagen are extremely elated at this success. According to them, their decision to enter the export market from here has made their India operation “on a boarder sustainable scale.” Now they are looking to explore more export markets for cars made in India.