VW Up! for India to be finalised by end 2012

Volkswagen will finalisethe introduction of the new small car UP! for the Indian market by end of 2012. The Up! will be priced below the Polo hatchback which is currently the cheapest car in the VW stable.

India will get the 5 door variant of the UP! and will be customised to meet the Indian standards.

“We are currently working on the feasibility to launch the UP! in the Indian market. I would like to take a decision by the end of this year,” Volkswagen Group Chief Representative India John Chacko said. The company will modify the existing UP!, which has already been introduced in Europe, to meet the Indian consumers’ expectations. Earlier in January this year, Chacko had said UP! is likely to hit the Indian roads by 2013 or early 2014.

Volkswagen Executive Vice-President Ulrich Hackenberg had said the company was looking at “a segment where Hyundai i10 and Maruti’s Swift is present”.

Highlighting the importance of UP! to the company’s plans for India, Chacko said: “India is a very competitive and low- cost market. We are at present addressing only about 30-35% of the Indian car market. With the UP!, we will be able to launch the vast volume-driven segment.”

The UP! Small car will be a curial for the German car maker as it help to target a larger customer base.