Volkswagen India afresh appear the barrage of the Taigun in India, which according to Ashish Gupta, cast director, Volkswagen Passenger Cars India, has exceeded all expectations and the assembly units for this year is about awash out.
In a chat with Attack India, Gupta additionally explains why the German auto architect isn’t in bustle to accompany the electric agent appearance in India, how ascent ammunition prices in the country aren’t currently affecting the user, the trend of premiumisation, the avenue of Ford (speculation about Volkswagen afterward it) and more…
Edited excerpts:
The Taigun has been launched in the aggressive mini-SUV amplitude – what’s been the response?
The acknowledgment has been above what we had planned for. By the time we launched the car, we had added than 12,000 pre-bookings. At the time of the pre-booking we had not appear the prices or alternative accommodation and column the reveal, we accept adapted 70% of those into accepted orders.
If I attending at the all-embracing drive we are active at a bulk of abutting to 250 bookings (including conversions from pre-bookings) every day. This is cutting for us and we are about awash out for the assembly for this year and will be anon announcement that beginning bookings will be alone accessible abutting year.
We are seeing that barter who admired the car afterwards seeing it adulation it alike added afterwards a assay driving. Currently, we are active a test-drive bulk of about 750 per day. The exhibit walk-ins accept added about 6-7 times.
The car has been launched alone in petrol options. There are a few players in the class that accept additionally gone afterwards a agent back ablution a new vehicle. Why is this happening?
This is a anxiety we took about two or three years ago back we started alive on the India 2.0 project. One of the above affidavit was that afterwards alive to BS6, and the accessible norms advancing up in 2023, agent becomes a abundant beneath adorable hypothesis in agreement of adorning costs which affects the appraisement of the car. So, we didn’t see the bulk of this for the customers.
Parallelly, we went with a absolutely TSI (turbocharged engine) portfolio rather than the accepted MPI which is seeing abundant traction.
Would the Taigun now be the flagship agent for Volkswagen in India? Which are the added cartage in your portfolio?
For us, all the models are like children, and so it’s difficult to aces one. Having said that, from a aggregate point-of-view, yes, the Taigun would be the flagship.
We accept the Polo, Vento, Taigun and the T-Roc in India. We will anon accept a all-around auto aboriginal abutting year which will annular up the portfolio.
The acceleration of EVs is interesting. Do you anticipate that the ascent ammunition prices will advance the appeal for them in the country?
It’s a difficult hypothesis appropriate now. Globally, Volkswagen is the baton in agreement of electrification in the accumulation segment. The accumulation has committed to advance abutting to 33 billion euros over the abutting four or bristles years in agreement of electrification. Globally, that is the administration the cast is taking.
In the Indian market, electric cartage currently aggregate beneath than 0.65% of the absolute market. Having said that, we are seeing the bulk acceleration and absorption with some of the models that accept been launched (by added auto manufacturers).
The accumulation electrification will alone appear back the EV bazaar constitutes 5% of the absolute agent sales and that will appear alone by the additional bisected of this decade as per our analysis. That is the affectionate of time we are attractive at to appraise what affectionate of articles to barrage in.
The bulk of advance and basement bureaucracy for a new assembly accommodation for electrical vehicles, the array assembly accommodation and the accumulation chains, will crave that affectionate of time.
The accepted acumen and conversations advance that the bazaar ability be accessible afore the three to four years you’re suggesting. Would that accomplish it backward for Volkswagen to access the amplitude in India?
Three to four years is a abbreviate appellation for the auto industry. The archetypal artefact development cycles are bristles to seven years. You accept to see the electrification adventure from a added perspective. Back we allocution about electrification, it’s not alone abased on ammunition prices. It’s additionally declared to be bigger for the environment. We accept to attending at the complete alternation of electrification, including breadth the activity for electrification is advancing from. As continued as it’s not allowance in abbreviation the carbon footprint, there is not abundant of a point.
We as a cast see electrification as a complete amalgamation in agreement of how it fits into our all-around action of ‘way to zero’.
Considering India has been a price-sensitive market, do you anticipate the chump could be absorbed to abate costs rather than attending at the bigger ambiance account and move to EVs?
Yes, that could be a situation. Over the abutting three to four years, array technology, basement setup, will change. With volumes activity up, the amount of basement should go down. The Government is additionally demography a lot of measures in bringing out behavior that abutment electrification. Once all of these things appear together, it will accumulate pace.
Premiumisation in the auto industry – are we seeing added first-time car purchasers access the class through added big-ticket purchases?
That’s a trend we are seeing too. The aces bulk for the exceptional or college priced models is abundant added than the access variants. Over the aftermost one and a bisected years, we are seeing a about-face in chump behaviour. The bodies who can allow cars are now added accommodating to buy them back the charge for claimed advancement has increased. Bodies are relying beneath on accessible carriage because of the assurance aspect during the pandemic. The ability to absorb has additionally added because bodies accept it’s time to absorb now as they’re ambiguous about the future.
What is additionally absorbing is that the advantage of exceptional acclimated cars has additionally increased. We accept a attendance pan-India for pre-owned cars and accept tripled our aggregate from 2019 in agreement of the numbers of cars selling. In 2019 we awash about 4,000 cars and it went up to 10,000 and this year we are on clue to ability 20,000.
Another acumen amphibian is that Indian, Japanese and South Korean brands action bulk for money in agreement of account and acquirement too while the others don’t. Would you accede with that and what has Volkswagen done to change this perception?
This has been a focus breadth for us. If you attending at the amount of ownership, we accept taken a lot of measures to accompany it in band with chump expectations. First of all, we alien the ‘Forever Care’ amalgamation breadth we action a four-year warranty, roadside assistance, and three chargeless casework that are accepted with every artefact of ours. This agency that it’s four years of hassle-free ownership. This brings bottomward the buying amount by 10-15%. Then we bargain the prices of additional parts, agent oils, etc. We alien adherence articles too breadth we accept aliment costs of alone about Rs 5,500 a year and its bigger than competitors.
In agreement of communicating it to the customer, we accept started a attack breadth we accept acclimated digital, print, dealers, and amusing media. It’s blue-blooded ‘You anxiety it activity beyond, we anxiety it service’. It’s a above advance from our ancillary and we accept invested massively to get it beyond to the consumers. It’s been able-bodied accustomed and barter accept additionally accounting to us, adage that they are activity the aberration back they appointment our dealers. We accept a account amount calculator on our website and are acutely cellophane about these costs.
Ford had a agnate attack on air on television breadth they were announcement the amount of ownership. And now they are departure the Indian bazaar which has rung a few anxiety accretion about the market. Accept there been any apropos from the Volkswagen chump as well?
The alone apropos I accept had are from the media. Three years ago we invested a billion euros in India. We accept aloof launched the Taigun and will be ablution a auto abutting year. We’ll additionally be ablution the revamped Tiguan. That’s a bright assurance of charge to the Indian market.
What are the challenges for the auto industry afterwards the aftermost year?
The aftereffect was actual credible during the lockdown breadth the sales nosedived. But the chump affect has active afterwards every wave. From June-July 2021 onwards, the industry has best up and is about 50-55% college than the aforementioned aeon from aftermost year.
The alone coercion we see is the availability of the apparatus and the raw actual prices which accept gone through the roof.
What about ascent ammunition prices. Given the babble that it’s breeding now, it has to be a concern?
It will accept an aftereffect about bottomward the line. But you accept to accept chump sentiment. The chump rationalises these amount changes. From the abstracts I have, the boilerplate active of a car has gone bottomward by about 12,000-13,000 kilometres a year, to about 6,000 a year as barter aren’t travelling much. So, for a customer, the bill has remained the aforementioned yearly.
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