German car manufacturer Volkswagen said it was thinking about the introduction of a car smaller than Polo in India to capture the fast-growing compact car sector in the country.
Volkswagen Group’s India Communication Head Kurt Rippholz said, “Believe me, we will have something smaller than the Polo. We are working on it”. But he did state that nothing was decided yet. He said, “First, you have to conceptualise and then assess the market potential”.
Volkswagen began production operations in India earlier this year at its Chakan factory, launching the compact car Polo. It invested about Rs 3,500 crore (Rs 35 billion) on the factory, which can manufacture 110,000 units per year.
When asked regarding the models lower than the Polo that can be cibsudered suitable for the Indian market, he said, “There’s the Fox in Brazil and Ebisa that’s sold in Spain. But, India is a different market. First, we have to decide which car will it be.”
VW is also thinking about introducing a new flavour of the Polo in India. He said, “Internal discussions are on,” and added that manufacture of VW sedan Vento, that uses the Polo platform, will commence in July in India. Vento would be placed between the Polo and the current Jetta sedan, he said.