Volkswagen’s technical chief, Ulrich Hackenberg recently confirmed that the automaker is working on the development of a £5400 (Rs. 4.76 lakhs) low budget car. The budget car will be £2500 (Rs. 2.2 lakhs) cheaper than the new Volkswagen Up. Hackenberg says that if the design of the car gets finalized this year then the company will launch the car in 2015 with a new brand name depending on the local market. For cost cutting, Volkswagen is planning to build the budget car in a low-cost country, where the car will be partly-engineered, materials will be sourced locally and second and third tier components will be localized.
Currently, Volkswagen is aiming to introduce the first version of the budget car for the Chinese market, where it will be produced too. The second version of the budget car will be locally produced in India and will be engineered for the Indian roads. The company has not disclosed the details about the platform being used for the budget car yet. Volkswagen will not compromise on the build quality of the budget car. The company is looking at offering good build quality along with good styling.
The VW Chinese budget car is expected to offer a wide range of colors with bright, airy and spacious trim work to make the vehicle look up market and not a low cost hatchback. The German automaker is also trying to fit in a smartphone integration system in the budget car in a cost-effective manner. We don’t expect premium features in this car, but Volkswagen is expected to offer decent equipment list with good styling and value. The budget car is expected to go in production late in 2015 and is unlikely to hit Western European markets.
Source – Autocar UK
