Following the GST Cess hike announced earlier this year, prices on the Volkswagen Vento sedan and Tiguan SUV have been revised across all variants. Prices on the Vento have increased between Rs. 4000 and Rs. 9000; whereas the Tiguan gets a significant price hike of Rs. 93,000 on the Comfortline trim and Rs. 1.04 lakh on the Highline trim. Prices on the company's entry-level Polo hatchback remain unaffected under the GST cess hike.
(Price increase is marginal on the Volkswagen Vento)
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The GST council revisited the cess structure for large cars, SUVs and mid-sized sedans and hike was introduced on the vehicles with effect from September 11, 2017. The council has increased the cess from 15 per cent as part of the original GST rates (43 per cent tax - 28 per cent GST + 15 per cent cess) to 20 per cent on luxury cars, 22 per cent cess on SUVs. Carmakers including Jaguar, Tata Motors, Hyundai, Honda among others have either announced price hikes or absorbed some of the cost of the increased cess. Volkswagen then, now joins this line-up.
Meanwhile, Volkswagen has another task at hand and that is the launch of the new generation Passat. The eighth generation Volkswagen Passat is loaded on features, electronics and a luxurious cabin, and will take on a host of offerings including the Toyota Camry, Honda Accord, Skoda Superb and the likes. The model will also take on some premium compact sedans including the BMW 3 Series, Mercedes-Benz C-Class and the Audi A4. Production of the VW Passat has already commenced at the company's Aurangabad facility, while the launch is scheduled on October 10, 2017.
(Production of the new generation Volkswagen Passat has begun in India)
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Volkswagen India will also introduce updates on the Polo soon, which include a larger 7-inch touchscreen infotainment system on the top variants, while features like auto headlamps and rain sensing wipers will be omitted from the Highline trim. All these features will be exclusively available on the range-topping Polo Highline Plus variant. Expect details on the updated Polo variants to arrive in a few days.
