Volkswagen has invested Rs. 720 crores for the production of the India specific compact sedan at the Chakan facility that will be based on the Polo platform.
After a dud selling year and a host of controversies to its name, Volkswagen is back on track for its future operations and is keenly eyeing the Indian market. The automaker announced that it will be investing Rs. 720 crores in its domestic operations for the upcoming India specific compact sedan that will roll out from the Chakan manufacturing facility. To measure just under the 4-metre mark, the upcoming compact sedan has been long in the making and will be making its global debut at the 2016 Auto Expo.
Volkswagen stated that the Indian automotive market is expected to be one of the largest auto markets by 2020 (third largest in the world as per some reports) and the company is looking at a long term investment plan for the country. The Rs. 720 crore investment is part of the cumulative Rs. 1500 crore amount that was announced by the company at the beginning of 2014. While the first step was establishing the engine assembly plant a year ago, the second phase includes setting up new equipment and ramping up the production for the new compact sedan.
Not much has been revealed of Volkswagen’s compact sedan but going by the company’s earlier statements, we know that the sub 4-metre model will be based on the same PQ25 platform that also underpins the Polo and Vento. The automaker could utilise the Vento’s wheelbase that is marginally longer than the Polo and free up more space inside the cabin. The styling will be in tandem with the automaker’s global design philosophy.
With the latest investment, Volkswagen has infused a total of Rs. 5500 crores at the Chakan facility since its operations commenced in 2007. The plant employs around 3200 personnel towards the production of the Polo, Vento and Skoda Rapid models for domestic and export markets. With the new model, the company will be ramping up production that is expected to create more employment opportunities. Production of the compact sedan will commence in the first half of 2016.
