More than three years after Volkswagen and Tata Motors called off their partnership, the German automotive giant is finally ready with its maiden product for India which could have otherwise been a work of the joint venture.
The mid-size SUV Taigun is all set to debut around the festive season later this year and Volkswagen has pulled out all stops for its launch. Built on a localised version of the global MQBA0 platform the Taigun is first of the many launches VW has lined up for India using the common platform.
The partnership with Tata Motors envisaged joint work on affordable products. The two companies did not provide reasons behind the break up. The launch of the Taigun is part of Volkswagen’s nearly Rs 8,000 crore investment committed to the Indian market which it hopes will increase its market share three times to 3 percent in the near future.
Volkswagen has given the Taigun not diesel, but two petrol engines – 1.0 and 1.5 litre - spread over multiple variants and transmission options. The base 1.0 litre, 3-cylinder engine which will deliver peak power of 115ps will have manual and automatic transmission options
The second engine option is the more premium 1.5 litre, 4-cylinder motor that generates peak power of 150ps. VW has provided a manual and direct shift gearbox (DSG) transmission option on this engine.
The same engines and the same vehicle platform are seen on the Skoda Kushaq, also a mid-size SUV. The Kushaq will however hit the market in July, while the Taigun is expected to debut in October.
The Taigun is the biggest bet for the German company since its debut in India in 2009. Not known for small cars Volkswagen was seen chasing volumes at the lower end of India’s passenger vehicle market without adequate levels of localisation.
Competing against market leader Maruti Suzuki with models like the Polo, Ameo and Vento, Volkswagen had a localisation content (or level of parts procured from within India) of below 60 percent as its engines and transmissions were only assembled in the country. VW claims that the Taigun will hit an ultimate localisation level of 95 percent thereby allowing it price the product competitively. At present, the company sells Polo, Vento and Tiguan Allspace.
With the natural upward shift in buyer’s preferences such as the surge seen for SUVs over the last few years, Volkswagen launched the India 2.0 programme that targets to position itself as a premium mass market brand.
While exact pricing of the Taigun will be known at the time of its launch but indications are that the SUV will be priced at a slight premium than its competition. Presently the Hyundai Creta is the highest-selling model in the mid-size SUV segment and is priced at Rs 10 lakh.
“We were chasing volumes earlier in segments we knew we did not belong to. The Taigun changes all that. In fact the MQBA0 platform allows us to have multiple models for India”, Gurpratap Boparai, managing director, Skoda Auto Volkswagen India.
In addition to the Kushaq, the Taigun competes against the Renault Duster, Hyundai Creta, Kia Seltos, Nissan Kicks and the Mahindra Scorpio. Some of these competitors have the option diesel engines but Boparai confirms that diesels do not have a future in India especially with the next generation emission norms coming in.
“The Phase II of Bharat Stage VI emission norms will make having diesel engines very difficult in the portfolio”, added Boparai. The real driving emission (RDE) will come into force in India in 2023.
Just before the debut of the Taigun, Volkswagen will launch the new Tiguan although the final date of the launch is not finalised.
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