Volkswagen sold just 3,208 units in September 2018 at a drop of 30 percent sales when compared to the same month last year
Volkswagen is having a tough time in the Indian market marked by the slowing down of sales for some of its popular models such as Polo, Vento and Ameo. All the three cars are positioned in hotly contested segments that are responsible for high volumes.
For instance, the segment-leading Maruti Suzuki Baleno has averaged 18,000 unit sales monthly in the last one year while Volkswagen Polo could barely manage 2,000 units every month. The contrasting differences can also be seen in the mid-size sedan and subcompact sedan segments the Vento and Ameo sit on.
In September 2018, the Polo premium hatchback garnered 1,583 units at a slump of 32 percent compared to the same month last year with 2,323 deliveries. The Ameo, on the other hand, endured a drop in sales of 22 percent as 1,034 units were sold against 1,327 in September 2017.
The Vento registered just 430 unit sales, at a massive de-growth of 46 percent in comparison to the same month last year when 794 units were retailed. Last month, the only product within the domestic lineup to record positive sales was Tiguan as 124 units were sold at a YoY increase of 3 percent.
Volkswagen and Skoda are expected to mend the situation in a couple of years as a fresh range of new launches are in the pipeline. With a huge investment of 1 billion euros (around Rs. 8,000 crore) between next year and till 2021, Skoda is taking the charge for INDIA 2.0 project as around 4,000 to 5,000 new jobs are expected to be created in the years to come.
Skoda is tasked with developing a strong base in India for sustainable profit as the new vehicles will sit on MQB AO IN architecture that will ensure high local content. It means that Skoda and Volkswagen can price their products competitively against big guns like Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai, Tata and Honda.
The first MQB A0 IN based Skoda model will be a SUV and it could rival the segment dominated by Hyundai Creta. It is more likely to take design inspiration from Karoq and at launch in 2020, the compact SUV is expected to use fuel-efficient small capacity turbocharged engines, mated to six-speed manual or automatic. From early next decade, Skoda and VW will launch two new vehicles each year as part of new strategy.