The name itself is considered as “THE AUTOMOBILE INDUSTRY”. Just like Toyota, Volkswagen maybe the giant for the world but again not for us; with none of the subsidiaries of ‘Volkswagen AG’ having decent market share in our country. Volkswagen India had a market share of 3.2 percent in 2011 with 78,178 units. The next year sales dropped by 15 percent and so did the share to 2.5 percent. Last year the volume did skid by 10 percent to 60,405 units but it retained its share in the industry. As each year passes by, the pain for the company increases and the trend continues even this year as sales recorded in the first six months summed to 20,125 units with a market share of just 1.6 percent. The company did take good initiatives in the last three and half years as it made ABS and airbags standard in most models. The company also launched the Cross Polo but the vehicle failed to impress. Recently the German company revealed the new diesel engine for the Polo and is also trying to bring down the spare parts cost by localising components to the maximum. It is slowly chalking out plans and will take some time to execute them and we can surely say that Volkswagen is aiming for the far future.
Polo – The only hatch oriented towards performance popularly known as ‘Driver’s hatch’, has its own trademark in the country. Though the car is not high on sales, it surely has been on the top of the list of young enthusiasts. While the Polo has been the best seller for Volkswagen most of the times, the sales charts project a different story. The market for this car is gradually decreasing with average falling from 3200 units in 2011 to 2900 units last year. The highest sales in a month were recorded long back in January 2013 with 4579 units. This year the sales plunged as numbers reported a drop of 39 percent when compared to the same period in 2013. This year 12,211 units have been reportedly sold. The only positive part for this car is that it has retained its numero uno position; which also means that other cars have performed much worse. Volkswagen did understand the need to renew the features and thus Polo recently received a facelift.
Vento – Based on the Polo platform, the sedan traced the same pattern as that of its hatchback version but lower in volume. The car did see its peak in March 2011 where the company sold 3973 units and since then the volume shot up to that level just once. In 2011, 35,671 units were sold where as in 2012 the average was 2150 units with sales dropping by 28 percent (almost 10,000 units). The volume fell further to 22,290 units and this year (Jan-June) the company sold 6695 units, witnessing a drop in sales by 46 percent when compared to same time period last year.
Jetta – The car which has enormous potential but has been maintaining a low profile when it comes to sales, the vehicle cannot be blamed for its figures but the segment can be. In 2011 a total of 2772 units hit the streets, while in 2012 the sales figure ended up with 3146 units. Last year the sales went down just like rest of the industry as the Jetta had to settle down with 2272 units. This year the sales could end up just like last year as 1204 units have been sold in the first six months.
Touareg – The poorest performer in the SUV segment, the Touareg has been eating dust while its counterparts are dealing at least with some volume. Only 81 units of the Toureg have been sold in the past three and half years. It’s time to pack up and go back home.
Passat – The fully loaded premium sedan is another great product but has been in the undigested segment for the Indian customer. For quarter lakh Indian Rupees, a standard Indian would opt for a basic model of Mercedes/Audi/BMW. Yes that’s the truth and hence the chapter ended with 2833 units (January 2011 – June 2014).
Beetle – One of the few female centric premium cars comes with a very expensive tag. Lashed by poor reviews, the bug did find some owners across the country as sales in last three and half years tallied to just 126 units.
