European auto manufacturer Volkswagen aims to revive its market share in the domestic automobile space by rolling out at least three Sports Utility Vehicles (SUV) in the next 12-18 months.The company made the announcement during the launch of seven-seater premium SUV Tiguan Allspace last Friday.
The SUV was launched as part of its India Project 2.0. The company expects at least 60 per cent of its sales globally to come from the SUV segment by 2024, amid the market across the world moving away from sedans.
“I think we will be (selling) around 60 per cent SUVs, going forward. Globally, we have about 42 per cent of all our cars in SUVs at present. I would assume that in India, it could go even up to 70 per cent by 2024,” said Volkswagen Passenger Cars India director Steffen Knapp.
Knapp said this would also depend on what is happening in the market. “I believe that all around the world, we are going into 70-75 per cent... So, there will be another category coming, the SUV and CUV (cross utility vehicle), as higher seating position is the future. Because the market is moving away from sedans.” The auto manufacturer sells hatchback Polo, sedan Vento and Tiguan SUV in the domestic market, along with Tiguan Allspace now.
Knapp said he is expecting the market to make a come-back from July onwards. Despite the passenger car sales seeing a de-growth of 5 per cent in the first two months of the year on account of the coronavirus and subsequent supply-chain issues with some of the manufacturers, Knapp has expressed confidence that the market will rebound.
“We believe that from July onwards, we should come into normal waters again... Now, (with) this situation in China and around the world, obviously, we have to reassess. We have some manufacturers who went down by 55-60 per cent. And, this is basically either they are changing models, or they are having huge issues with the supply chain. So, it is very very difficult,” Knapp said.
Investment plan in place
Knapp said that Volkswagen’s Rs 8,000-crore investment plan in India remains on track. "We are sticking to that...all is rolling in the right direction. We are already refurbishing our production line to the MQB platform. So, everything is on track. There’s no change in plan because it is fundamental to us. This is the chance for us to move into the next level," he said.
60 per cent of global sales to come from the SUV segment by 2024, Volkswagen estimates
70 per cent of sales in India would come from the SUV segment by 2024, the company expects
42 per cent of all Volkswagen cars are SUVs currently
Domestic product portfolio
Volkswagen currently sells hatchback Polo, sedan Vento and Tiguan SUV in the domestic market, along with Tiguan Allspace.