The German auto giant, Volkswagen is contemplating on bringing its Spanish brand, Seat to the Indian shores to increase its foothold on the rapidly emerging market. The VW brand can benefit in the economies of scale with the introduction of the Seat brand in India since they share many common parts and platforms. This will result in driving down the costs and improve profit margins. However, VW concedes that launching the Seat brand might be equally difficult as there might be an overlap with its existing products, the situation happening with VW and Skoda. Still, the company hopes that the Mediterranean character of Seat will be liked by the customers.
Currently Seat is going to make its debut in China after which India might be on the cards. While VW’s worldwide sales have gone up by 12.1 percent this year, Seat has shown a slower growth rate of 2.3 percent. Unsuccessful talks with Suzuki have also impacted the company’s growth strategy in India but VW is already fixing that by bringing the Up! model. Skoda has also announced its plans to launch its small car, the Citigo soon.
Source – Autocar India
