Volkswagen Group on Monday said it will invest €1 billion (about ₹7,900 crore) in India primarily between 2019 and 2021 as part of its India 2.0 strategy to become a “more significant player” in the country’s auto market.
While admitting that the Volkswagen Group had struggled to meet its targets in India in the recent years, group company Skoda Auto CEO Bernhard Maier said, “With ‘India 2.0’, we are now creating the right conditions for sustainable growth there. Our objective is ambitious, but achievable: together with the Volkswagen brand, we are aiming for a 5% market share in the passenger vehicle segment by 2025.”
Under the project, Skoda Auto would be leading the group’s campaign to strengthen presence in the Indian market.
Engineering centre
Skoda Auto would also set up an engineering centre in India to bring out products suited for the Indian market. “By the end of the year, we will have about 250 engineers working at the centre in Pune to develop cars,” said Mr. Maier.
Going forward, all models designed and produced locally in India would be based on Volkswagen Group’s MQB platform that already complies with upcoming emission and safety standards in India. He added that the products would be highly localised in order to achieve cost competitiveness. The centre, along with proposed expansion of manufacturing plants, is expected to create 4,000-5,000 direct and indirect jobs.
The group would unveil a new mid-size SUV based on the MQB platform by the second half of 2020. It plans to introduce two models each from Volkswagen and Skoda brands between 2021 and 2025.
“The platform can have many body styles, we do not rule out anything. If market is ready, then we can be ready too,” Mr Maier said.
On exports, he said the focus would be on India. However, Skoda would assess the possibility of exporting vehicles manufactured in India. Additionally, Skoda Auto, which plans to have a portfolio of 10 electric vehicles by 2025, said it will bring these products to the Indian market as well depending on the market preparedness and infrastructure.