Polo helps Volkswagen establish a low-cost Indian export hub
Following Hyundai and Suzuki, Volkswagen plans to turn its operations in India into a low-cost export hub. The Polo is central to this plan, with completely knocked-down kits and fully-built examples of the fifth-generation model to be exported from the second quarter of 2011. The Indian-export Polo will be sent to Africa, the Middle East, and South East Asia from Volkswagen’s Pune plant in Chakan. VW believes that the Indian-made Polo suits the markets of South East Asia and Africa well, as well as being pegged at a competitive price.
Earlier in the year, Volkswagen forecasted production of 50,000 Polos in India, with 35,000 of those for the domestic market. Exports made up the remainder of the production projections. Even the recently-launched fifth-generation Polo-based Vento saloon is said to be under export consideration. The Polo is in direct competition with cars such as the Ford Figo and Hyundai i20 both in India and also the export markets the company is targeting. The Indian-built Polo has just been launched in 1.6-litre, 104bhp form in addition to the 1.2-litre, 74bhp variants.
[Source: 9to6.com]
