The tycoon in the cosmos of automobile from Germany this company doesn’t need an introduction. But it is surprising that when every other four wheeler manufacturing company is getting into the compact car segment of the Indian Automobile market, Volkswagen is keeping itself away from it. Perhaps it knows that entering into this segment right now mayruin the image of its brand in India. Seeing Skoda launch a small car, Volkswagen also wanted to jump into this segment. So far Volkswagen has one variant each in hatchback, premium hatchback, SUV segments and four in the notchback segment for the Indian automobile market.
Recently after separating ways with Suzuki Motor Corporation, it has not discussed the launch plan for it’s much awaited Up! hatchback which is going to be just below the Volkswagen Polo. It would have been Volkswagen’s cheapest and smallest four- wheeler compared to its own present fleet of seven vehicles for the Indian market. If launched in the beginning of 2012 it would have come at a price of between Rs.3 Lakh-Rs.4 Lakh, giving a tough time to Maruti Suzuki’s A-Star.
The middle class of India is very keen on buying four wheelers which are within their budget i.e. withinRs.1 Lakh to Rs.4 Lakh. This has prompted Tata motors to come up with Nano, and other automobile companies are also trying to introduce models in the compact car segment. This certainly proves a very important point that there is a potentially huge market in India for this segment of vehicles. If we say that Indian Automobile’s four wheel segment is ruled by small cars, it won’t be false. May be that is the reason, Volkswagen is studying the market trend and deciding on when and how to launch its car for this segment.
Along with Tata Nano the compact car segment in India is currently ruled by Maruti 800, which hasn’t lost its charm even after more than 2 decades. Maruti Alto, Maruti A-Star, Hyundai Santro, Chevrolet Spark and Maruti Wagon-R are all there in this segment fighting it out amongst one another. These vehicles come within the budget of the middle class of India. However, Volkswagen’s price range starts from Rs.4.7 Lakh, which is the ex showroom rate of Volkswagen Polo. Thus Volkswagen has to first make a stronghold in the Indian Automobile market after which it can take the risk of experimenting with liberty.
