Volkswagen is likely to launch the ID.4 electric SUV via the CBU route next year.
We spoke to Thomas Schäfer, Volkswagen CEO at the ongoing IAA Mobility show in Germany regarding their plans for the Indian market and the products they intend to launch in our country.
He confirmed to us that the sixth generation Polo is not being considered for launch in India. Reason behind this decision – since it is a global car, they cannot make a sub 4-metre car specific to India and the company has no plans to compete in the sub Rs. 10 lakh segment.
The German carmaker also has no plans to introduce an MPV in the Indian market based on the MQB A0 IN. Earlier we hoped that VW might come up with a practical 7 or 8-seater MPV for India with this modular architecture to compete with the Maruti Ertiga, Kia Carens and the likes but sadly that is not happening.
They are testing the all-electric VW ID 4 in India since a long while, we have spotted multiple prototypes of the EV. It will be launched as a CBU product in India by 2024. Currently, Volkswagen has no plans for MEB 21 for India. He says policy fluctuation in India makes it difficult to invest in electric vehicles. They are not investing in hydrogen tech either as they believe it is not feasible.
VW CEO believes that the EV segment in our country is too small in volumes and not feasible to invest at the moment. They plan to invest in markets where there is considerable volume. They are planning to launch 11 new EVs by 2027 globally as the German carmaker is fully focussed on EVs currently.
They recently revealed the VW ID GTI concept which previews an all-electric hot hatch. This electric performance hatch will go into production by 2026. Indian market might get some units via CBU.
Volkswagen will soon reveal the new generation Tiguan that was leaked a few days ago. It will get a completely new design language with redesigned interiors and new features on offer. They have confirmed that the new gen Tiguan will be launched in India soon after its global debut.
The German carmaker won’t re-introduce the new Jetta and Passat in India as they plan to focus more on SUVs. Thomas Schäfer claims India is an important market for Volkswagen but until there is volume feasibility, new models will not be launched. The existing cars will get feature upgrades to keep them relevant.
All in all, we don’t expect VW to introduce new products on the MQB A0 IN platform so don’t expect any new car based on the India centric platform. However, they will keep adding new features and give updates to the existing products and introduce CBU models to keep them going in the Indian market.
