This article is an excerpt of the detailed conversation (full video in story) between Express Drives and Ashish Gupta, Brand Director, Volkswagen Passenger Cars India.
Ever since the Volkswagen Taigun was showcased in early 2020 in concept form, there has been a lot of excitement around it among car enthusiasts. Based on the MQB A0 IN platform, the Taigun shares its platform with the recently launched Skoda Kushaq. Many of our readers/ viewers have been bombarding us with queries regarding Volkswagen Taigun’s launch timeline, booking details, expected pricing, maintenance costs, etc. So we decided to put an end to this suspense once and for all and for that, we spoke to the man in charge of Volkswagen India operations. Ashish Gupta, Brand Director, Volkswagen Passenger Cars India spoke to Express Drives in an exclusive conversation and gave us a deep insight into many eagerly awaited details about the Volkswagen Taigun.
Ashish Gupta, Brand Director, Volkswagen Passenger Cars IndiaHe told us that unaffected by the two waves of Covid-19, the development work of the Taigun continued on track, translating into a market launch as planned earlier. Ashish confirmed to Express Drives that the Volkswagen Taigun launch/ price announcement will happen in the 3rd week of September. Customer deliveries will also commence at the same time, While the exact date will be revealed closer to the launch, he told us that once the media drive for the Taigun is over in the first week of August, bookings will open in mid-August. This will also be the time when the official production of the Volkswagen Taigun will commence at its Pune plant.
With the disclosed timelines, it’s clear that Volkswagen is within its target of launching the Taigun before the festival season kicks off in the country. Speaking of whether the India focus and emphasis on cost might compromise in terms of build quality, material quality, and driving fun, Ashish said that the characteristics associated with a Volkswagen car will continue to thrive in the Taigun in all areas. He also added that the company has planned the variant packaging in a smart way and based on customer feedback to ensure buyers get multiple options based on their requirements.
When asked about how different will the Taigun be from the Skoda Kushaq, Ashish said that the Taigun has a different exterior design to start with. In addition, the compact SUV will have differences inside the cabin in terms of layout and materials along with some new features. Although Ashish didn’t speak more about the features, one of the biggest differences between the Kushaq and the Taigun is expected to be the inclusion of a fully digital instrument cluster in the latter. From what we know this would be similar to the Virtual Cockpit seen on Audi models, translating into a premium effect inside the cabin.
Later, we asked him about the Volkswagen Tiguan launch as the SUV was showcased alongside the Taigun in March 2021. To this, Ashish said that the launch of the Tiguan has been postponed for now as the plan earlier was to launch it before the Taigun but the 2nd Covid-19 wave delayed the original plans, Now with the Taigun launch around the corner, the company didn’t want to confuse buyers by launching two SUVs in close succession and hence, the model will now be launched after the Taigun.
During this exclusive and freewheeling conversation, Ashish spoke to us about many other key things such as the efforts made to reduce the maintenance cost of the Taigun and the powertrain strategy of Volkswagen. He also talked about the possible impact of Taigun not having a diesel version compared to the key rivals Hyundai Creta and Kia Seltos along with the design approach for the upcoming all-new sedan. In order to know these details and more please click on the video in this article.
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