It was in 2020 that we got a glimpse of what's happening at Volkswagen India. The company was embracing the India 2.0 strategy under which, it had plans to bring in several new cars to India and a path was charted to ensure that it stays on its growth trajectory. 2020 was a great year for VW India, and we say that knowing well how hard the pandemic and the closure of business hit the entire industry. Cars like the T-Roc, Tiguan All Space, which were launched just before the lockdown was announced, did very well for the company. In fact, the first batch of the T-Roc has been sold out and more than 2000 bookings were received for the SUV. Given, how well SUVs have done for the company, there's no doubting that more are coming to the country under the SUVW Strategy, but this time around it holds a trump card in its hand and that's making in India for the world.
Volkswagen India's first batch of the T-Roc was sold out and it received 2000 bookings for the car
To ensure this happens, there's a significant amount of investment that has gone into it. The Group has invested close to Rs. 8000 crore for the India 2.0 strategy and that includes making its Chakan plant ready for production with the new MQB A0 IN platform. This platform is exclusive to India and it says it in the name itself. 'IN' refers to India and it doesn't get anymore exclusive than this.
The MQB A0 IN platform is a variable platform
Volkswagen's new platform already meets all the requirements for the Indian market including the new safety norms that have come into force. You can say it's future ready. This uniform yet variable platform allows a wealth of different vehicles to be produced in an extremely flexible and efficient manner. So, Volkswagen can build a hatchback, sedan and even an SUV with varying levels of wheelbases on the same platform. That has two positive implications; one - improves efficiency and hence better for economies of scale and the second, more products can come to the market faster than ever before.
The first car to be based on the MQB A0 IN platform will be the Taigun
For all cars built based on Volkswagen Group's modular transverse matrix, the installation position of the transverse engines, which are tilted slightly forward, and the distance from the middle of the front wheels to the pedals are the same. This helps in providing a uniformity in the front end and plenty of space in the cabin as well.
There are some more advantages as well, the biggest is the fact that Volkswagen India will be using a lot of local content to make their cars. From 83 per cent currently, the company will power its way to achieving up to 95 percent localisation and this platform will play a big role in achieving that.
VW India is looking to achieve localisation of up to 95% on its cars.
VW is also getting ready to make India an export hub but the demand from the domestic market will be given precedence. Having said that there's no denying it will make cars for the world right here in India! And the first SUV to be built on this platform will be the Taigun, which we caught a glimpse of at the Auto Expo.
Year 2021 then, will be the year of the Taigun for Volkswagen India and with a lot more expected in the coming months we can't wait to see what else it has to offer!
