2012 Volkswagen Eos Lux Review – Cabriolet reborn

Pros:

• Surprisingly fast acceleration
• Revised styling is more sophisticated
• Refined interior & build quality

Cons:

• Proportions are a bit awkward with the top up
• Automatic hardtop takes patience
• Small trunk space

The last time I even thought about a VW convertible was in high school drooling over the hot blonde cheerleader with a white ’87 Rabbit-based Cabriolet with a matching canvas top. So when my editor called about the Eos I was conflicted. It brought back some fun high school memories but I also had to decide whether I was man enough to drive a chick car. I’m glad I said yes. The Eos represents the top end of the VW convertible line-up, capping the range that will start with the new Beetle soft top and the upcoming Euro-only(for now) 2012 Golf Cabrio soft top. The new VW Eos Lux was fun to drive with the top up or down. Usually the mid-cycle model refresh is focused mostly on the innards with just minor exterior updates, but the 2012 VW Eos received a fairly significant face-lift, and it is all the better for it. Gone are the roundish headlights with the vertically-stretched chrome grille with matching round taillights, and in are the new VW corporate looks both on the front and back. The new design is more sophisticated and less cutesy than the original Eos. The 2.0 turbo four carries over mated to a 6-speed automatic with Tiptronic and Sport mode.


Driving Impressions
Frankly I was not ecstatic about driving the Eos. Playing with the folding hardtop, yes, but driving the FWD 4-banger was not that enticing to me. But I was pleasantly surprised. Drop the gearshift into Sport mode and floor the accelerator, and you’ll be redlining in no time and peeling out. Yes, I was actually burning rubber off the line in this subcompact FWD four-cylinder Eos.
The turbo helps with the boost but the 207 lb.-ft. of torque @ 1,800-5,000 RPM makes driving this Eos quite fun. The 200 HP comes at 5,100 RPM and passing cars on the freeway was a breeze. For its size, the Eos is pretty heavy thanks to its 5-piece folding hard top, and 0-60 is pegged at 7.3 seconds. But it feels faster than that. Torque steer is a typical problem with high-power FWD cars, but it’s not too noticeable in the Eos. Guess it doesn’t exactly qualify as “high-power.” But hey, you don’t buy the Eos for the performance. There are plenty of other performance drop tops like the Nissan 370Z or the BMW Z4.

Driving the Eos with the hardtop folded down was fun. Yes, it messes up your hair and no, the rear passengers get a lot of wind in their faces but it’s not that common these days to be able to share a convertible driving experience with 3 other passengers. I was actually able to fit a child seat in the back (after half an hour and lots of curse words) and took my toddler for a ride. He didn’t enjoy it as much as I did (too much wind) but I cant do that in a Z4. The Eos also has a unique sunroof option that is very wide and you can tilt it or open it just like in a hardtop car.




Styling
The 2012 Eos is a significant improvement over the first generation car in terms of exterior appearance. As I mentioned in the intro, the frontend is much more sophisticated looking with the new wide VW corporate grille and Golf-like headlight units. The original rounded headlights with the chrome face grille always disturbed me somewhat. Too cute. The squared-off taillights are also much more expensive-looking than the previous round units. Other than that, the overall proportions and shape of the Eos remain the same.
The lack of the B pillar is great for visibility and gives the Eos a clean profile with the top up. I wish the proportions were better worked out, however, as the Eos seems a bit too short especially with the fast sloping rear window that looks like it’s pushing the entire greenhouse forward. The FWD architecture means a long overhang with the front axle sitting well aft of the engine. The Volvo C70 hardtop convertible also has a long overhang but the longer length and wheelbase of the Volvo give the C70 much better proportions with the top up. The Eos is definitely more attractive with the top down.

Interior Comfort and Ergonomics
The interior of the 2012 Eos is refined and the quality of the materials is what one can expect from a $39k car. There is leather over most surfaces the driver touches with metallic-appearance accents in all the right places. The Lux and Executive trims also come with burled walnut trim on the dashboard, doors and center console. I don’t even know what burled means but it sounds expensive. 12-way adjustable front seats with 4-way lumbar support are also available in the Lux and Executive trims.
The steering-wheel mounted controls are not too overwhelming and allow the driver to mess with a decent amount of phone, voice-control, cruise control, menu options, and the nav/audio touch screen unit on the center console is intuitive and easy to reach. The new VW interior feels rich but not decadent, if that makes any sense. With the folding hardtop up the interior is fairly quiet, you can hardly tell that this car is a convertible. The fit of the roof is impeccable. Visibility out of the sides is fantastic thanks to the missing B pillars.

Value
The base trim Eos Komfort starts at just under $34k, and the top-of-the-range Executive trim starts at just over $39k. The nicely-appointed tester was a mid level Lux trim and MSRPs at a tad over $38k with destination. Its closest competitors are probably the Saab 9-3 convertible and the aforementioned Volvo C70 folding hardtop convertible, both of which are more expensive. The Eos has the lowest starting price of the three and is very competitive even at the Executive trim level. The Volvo C70 has a turbocharged 5 cylinder that produces 27 more horses, but starts out at $39k. The Saab 9-3 also has a 4-cylinder 2.0 liter turbo but is a tad bit slower than the Eos and it starts at just under $40k for the manual and over $41k or the automatic. And it only has a folding soft top.
Drop-Top Cars are Fun
The 2012 Volkswagen Eos is a great little 4-seater convertible. The folding hardtop is fun to watch and reminds me of Transformers. Its unique sunroof that opens up makes this an enjoyable car even when it’s not that warm out. I even had fun driving this FWD with a 2.0 4 cylinder. On top of that it’s a great deal when compared against the Volvo and the Saab. So what if the proportions are a bit awkward with the top up, you wouldn’t see that since you’re having fun cruising down the boulevard. And with the top down, you’d be too busy smiling with the wind in your hair. This VW Eos is a vast improvement over that white Cabriolet the cheerleader drove in high school, but boy do I miss watching her drive by with her other cheerleader friends standing in the back seat holding onto that signature basket handle rollover bar.

	BUILD	INTERIOR	PERFORMANCE	HANDLING	STYLING	VALUE	OVERALL
RATING	4.5	4.5	4.0	4.0	3.5	3.5	4.0/B

Source : Carrivew.com

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2010 Volkswagen Kai-Nalu Concept Design Study - Volkswagen Sport Car

Josep Ferriol is a graduate of Universidad Politécnica de Valencia in Spain, and a designer. Josep Ferriol created this concept car design study called the Volkswagen Kai-Nalu, a wild child with extremely exotic looks, as part of his thesis.

2010Volkswagen Kai-Nalu

The Volkswagen Kai-Nalu is a concept sports car designed by Spanish designer Josep Ferriol. The vehicle is futuristic sports car and is inspired by the waves of the Mediterranean Sea as they smash into the shoreline. The Kai-Nalu also includes a flowing glass upper section, which has been designed to mimic the sea.

The Volkswagen Concept Josep Ferriol includes the clear roof, highly stylised wheels and an electric drivetrain with two separate motors and design of Kai-Nalu is somewhat controversial and certainly no please everyone. But in a world where there are many supercars that follow the same formula and same style, the Volkswagen Kai-Nalu is refreshing and different.

Ferriol is quite aware of how bold and probably controversial the Kai-Nalu would be, given the tendency for certain modern cars to follow similar design patterns.

Designed to be powered by a zero-emission electric engine, the vehicle features highly stylized wheels which have been inspired by the appearance of bicycle wheels.

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Volkswagen New Beetle pics

The Volkswagen New Beetle is a minor clan auto, acquainted by Volkswagen in 1998, drawing considerable enthusiasm from the outer surface configuration of the first Beetle. Unlike the first Beetle, the New Beetle has its motor in the front driving the front wheels and luggage reserves in the rear. In May 2010, Volkswagen advertised that preparation of the current group of the New Beetle will stop in 2011. 1 A redesigned model will displace it.

Volkswagen New Beetle


Volkswagen New Beetle


Volkswagen New Beetle


Volkswagen New Beetle


Volkswagen New Beetle


Volkswagen New Beetle


Volkswagen New Beetle


Volkswagen New Beetle


Volkswagen New Beetle


Volkswagen New Beetle


Volkswagen New Beetle


Volkswagen New Beetle


Volkswagen New Beetle


Volkswagen New Beetle


Volkswagen New Beetle

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Volkswagen Vento to launch on July 6th

Volkswagen India, an Indian subsidiary of Germany based auto giant, will launch its much awaited sedan Volkswagen Vento in the country on 6th of July. The company has already revealed the sketch of this car in the Indian market. The Vento is basically an entry level sedan which will be developed on the platform of company's recently launched hatchback Volkswagen Polo in India. The car is expected to carry a price tag of Rs 9 to 10 lakh.




Vento, has been designed, keeping into consideration, the expectations and requirements of the Indian buyers. It is being manufactured at company's Chakan plant near Pune. Volkswagen Vento is all set to give a hard competition to its contemporaries in the segment such as, the best selling Maruti Swift Dzire, recently launched Hyundai Verna Transform, Honda City and Fiat Linea.

In a recent statement Mr. Neeraj Garg, Volkswagen's Director, passenger cars said that the launch of Vento would be a milestone for the brand in India. He also added that the car has been designed keeping the Indian customers and their preferences in mind.

The company will launch this model in both diesel and petrol versions, which gives it an extra edge over cars like Honda City which are available only in petrol version in India. Keeping in line with other available cars of this segment, the company is expected to roll-out this car in both automatic and manual transmissions.

The company hasn't disclosed the exact price and specification details of this car in India till now. Currently, Volkswagen enjoys a decent portfolio in India that comprises of Passat, Jetta, Touareg, New Beetle, Phaeton and the latest Polo hatchback.

Source:- Volkswagen Vento to launch on July 6th - New Cars

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Volkswagen Vento ready to zoom on 6th July

Volkswagen India is all set to launch its much awaited entry level sedan Volkswagen Vento, on 6th of July 2010. Vento has been designed on the same platform used in Polo, the company's latest hatchback. Volkswagen had announced early this year, at the Delhi Auto Expo, that it would launch the sedan version of Polo in India, after it launches the hatchback. Polo, the hatchback from Volkwagen's stable, was recently launchd in March, and soon after, we hear the announcement of Volkswagen Vento being launched.




Vento, has been designed, keeping into consideration, the expectations and requirements of the Indian buyers. It is being manufactured at company's Chakan plant near Pune. Volkwagen Vento is all set to give a hard competition to its contemporaries in the segment like Maruti Swift Dzire, Hyundai Verna Transform, Honda City and Fiat Linea.

As of now, there is no offcial declarations being made, on the price and specifications of this new car. It is expected that the Vento will be available in both diesel and petrol versions in the Indian market and would be shelved in the price segment of Rs 9 to 10 lakh. Both the petrol and diesel would be powered by 1.6 L engines along with both automatic and manual transmission capabilities. Currently, Volkswagen enjoys a descent portfolio in India that comprises of Passat, Jetta, Touareg, New Beetle, Phaeton and the latest Polo hatchback.

Source:- Volkswagen Vento ready to zoom on 6th July - New Cars

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Volkswagen Up! might come with Maruti's 1.0L K- Series engine

Volkswagen Up!, a popular compact car which will be rolled-out in the Indian market by the end of year 2011, is speculated to be powered with Maruti's 1.0L K-series engine. The UP! model will be priced lower than the company's recently launched hatchback Polo in India. At present, the company is considering two version of this model for the Indian market including a 3.45m long three door hatchback and a five door version.



If the rumors in the market to be believed, the India bound Volkswagen Up! will be equipped with a 1.2L TDi, which already powers the Polo model in the country. The engine will be capable of producing a maximum power of 50bhp along with a commendable CO2 emission level of 80g/km.



However, for the time being the company may borrow locally produced 1.0L K-Series engines from Maruti Suzuki as the localization of a new engines may take both time and resources. Currently, many popular Maruti cars in India come powered with this latest 1.0L K-series engine including A-Star, WagonR and Zen Estilo. The company is aiming to manufacture about 6,00,000 units of this car globally including a mini MPV based on the Up! which is expected to hit the market by year 2013.

Source:- Volkswagen Up! might come with Maruti's 1.0L K- Series engine - New Cars

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Skoda planning to get “more affordable” in India

Skoda is known for its premium models in India. Even the small car, Fabia, from Skoda costs above Rs. 5 Lacs. India is a cost sensitive market and Skoda India seems to have realized this fact, as sources suggest that the company plans to get into a “little more affordable mode” particularly to target the Indian customers. Skoda India is looking forward to see an escalation in its sales volumes this year and for this the company is going to launch a car smaller than Fabia for the Indian buyers.

Thomas Kuehl, Head, Sales and Marketing, Skoda India, commented that Skoda India has always been known for its class and premium style. He added that this year the company is expecting to generate more sales volumes in India. The new small car is speculated to be based on the platform of VW Up! The car would not only be targeted towards the Indian market but would also be sold in the European markets. The car would be powered by a 1.0TDI diesel engine and a sub 1.0L petrol engine.

Although there are no official announcements on the price range of the car, but it is assumed to be shelved in the bracket of Rs. 3-4 lakh. The production of the car would be carried at the Chakan plant of the Volkswagen Group.

Source:- Skoda planning to get “more affordable” in India - New Cars

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Volkswagen bags four awards at the Outdoor Advertising Convention 2010

Volkswagen's bagged two awards for Roadblock for New Beetle and the creative outdoor advertising for Touareg, one award for Media Plan of the year-Merit for Volkswagen Brand campaign and one award for the campaign of the year for Volkswagen Total Roadblock at the OAC (Outdoor Advertising Convention), 2010 leading honors for path breaking Out of Home advertising campaigns.



In the creative category, Volkswagen’s cluster Billboard advertisement for the New Beetle bagged the Gold Award in Automotive Sector. A cluster of billboards at Mumbai's main junction caught everyone’s attention as it depicted different parts of the New Beetle. The cluster was dynamic; one hoarding followed by another was taken by a period of consecutive days, finally culminating in the entire set showcasing the New Beetle's iconic shape. The cluster creative was clicked and forwarded by millions.

Volkswagen’s campaign for the SUV Touareg also bagged the Sliver award in the Automotive Sector. The campaign consisted of the Frame of Touareg lighting the Volkswagen logo on the billboard, became the talking point of the town.

The Campaign of the Year – Gold was awarded to Volkswagen’s Total Roadblock for Beetle, Touareg and brand Volkswagen. The initiative was strategically placed at key junctions to create maximum visibility and the right messaging across.

The merit award for Media category: Media plan of the year - National was awarded to Volkswagen brand campaign for Outdoor hoardings.

Speaking on the occasion Mr. Lutz Kothe, Chief General Manager, Marketing, and PR, Volkswagen Group Sales India Pvt Ltd said, “The idea behind the Outdoor Advertising was to create maximum buzz, awareness and impact about ‘Brand Volkswagen’ in India and help the company grab attention and mindshare of potential customers. These campaigns not only created brand recall for Volkswagen across the nation but also played as key part in boosting the company’s sales.

Source:- Volkswagen bags four awards at the Outdoor Advertising Convention 2010 - New Cars

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Volkswagen Plans To Introduce Another Small Car

We all know that after China, the small car market in India is the second fastest growing auto market in the world. Thinking on the same lines, German auto major Volkswagen is considering the option of introducing a car which will be even smaller than the Polo currently seen in the Indian market. The manufacturing operations of VW have started early this year, at the Chakan plant. This plant boasts of the capacity to produce 110,000 units per annum.



Kurt Rippholz, Communication Head for Volkswagen Group’s India, said, "Believe me, we will have something smaller than the Polo. We are working on it,”. Volkswagen Group's India Communication Head Kurt Rippholz said.

Here it is worth mentioning that Maruti Suzuki India is on the top when it comes to the passenger cars, with more than 55 per cent market share in the same . But now new entries such as this have toughened the growing competition. There are competitors like Nissan, Ford, Hyundai, Tata Motors and General Motors etc which are playing an important role in this regard. Rippholz also said "First you have to conceptualise and then assess the market potential," .

When Rippholz was asked about the models which are below the Polo and those which can be appropriate for the Indian market, he said "There's the Fox in Brazil and Ebisa that's sold in Spain. But India is a different market. First, we have to decide which car will it be."

Though nothing has been finalized as yet, about the new small car of VW, Rippholz maintains that "Internal discussions are on,". He also added that the production of VW sedan Vento will most probably begin in July in India. The expected new Vento will features common to Polo and Jetta sedan.

Source:- Volkswagen Plans To Introduce Another Small Car - New Cars

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Volkswagen plans a new green-field plant in China

Leading German car manufacturer Volkswagen AG, announced on Wednesday that it has plans of establishing a green-field plant in South China. The plant will be built with an annual production capacity of 300,000 units. The company will start the construction of this plant by the end of 2010, at Foshan, in Guangdong province. The Foshan plant will be ready for production by mid-2013 and will account for a heavy chunk of Volkswagen's planned investment of about $7.2 billion in China by year 2012.



It will be the first plant from this joint venture in South China where the Japanese car giants Toyota and Honda are already present in a high number. The Volkswagen group also has a tie-up with SAIC Motor Corp, a leading domestic car-maker in the country.

In the period of Jan to May 2010, the Volkswagen group has managed to sell 778,000 vehicles in China and reported a jump of 48 per cent over the sales in the same period in the previous year.The European mammoth aims to increase its capacity in China to 3 million units by 2013 to 2014.

The Chinese auto-market emerged as the fastest growing and largest auto-market last year, replacing US from the top spot of global automobile market.

Source:- Volkswagen plans a new green-field plant in China - New Cars

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Volkswagen to source tyres from Apollo

Apollo Tyres, India's top tyre supplier, is preparing to supply tyres to Germany based leading car maker Volkswagen in Europe as company is planning to expand its operations in overseas markets.

According to Mr Neeraj Kanwar , Apollo Tyres Managing Director, the company has recently gone into VW (Volkswagen), supplying tyres for the cars the German car maker Is launching in India and it is in discussion to supply tyres to Volkswagen in Europe,



With this, the company is also eying on taking advantage of its recently acquired Dutch firm Vredestein, for supplying tyres to Volkswagen as the Dutch firm is already supplying to VW. Now the company will talk about two brands (Vredestein and Apollo) to VW, said Mr Marc Luyten, Apollo Vredestein Chief Marketing Officer.

The company is aiming to achieve a global turnover of USD 5 billion by year 2015 and plans to enter in the South Africa and Latin America market. The company will be available only at established retailers. It will not walk the wholesale route, said Mr Onkar S Kanwar Apollo Tyres chairman .

Source:- Volkswagen to source tyres from Apollo - New Cars

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Proton to join forces with Volkswagen

After the news of Volkswagen and Maruti Suzuki joining hands has been doing rounds, its Proton, the Malaysian car maker that is supposedly in talks with the Volkswagen Group that might get official in a few days. The chairman of Proton Motors recently quoted that the outcome of the meeting between the two auto makers would be made official in a few days and that he didn't want to jump gun at this juncture of talks.



The pairing is expected to reap mutual benefits for the two firms as Proton would then perhaps use some of its vacant capacity to build and develop Volkswagen Cars. Proton was seen as likely candidate from quite a while now.

Apart from utilizing some of its vacant capacity for Volkswagen production, the Malaysian car maker might also rebadge some of the older Volkswagen car models for its own domestic market.

The deal however would be restricted to the domestic markets of the two companies, but the association seemed to be on roll for quite some time now and this perhaps is the perfect juncture for the association to take place.

Source:- Proton to join forces with Volkswagen - New Cars

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Sailesh Bolisetti Wins Inaugural Race of Polo Cup India 2010

Mohammed Fahad Kutty had finished in 3rd place but had then been given a 15 second penalty by the stewards for overtaking under yellow flags. It was a close finish as the top 6 were covered by less than 10 seconds at the chequered flag. Sailesh had a great start and led from the start with Saran Vikram and Karthik Shankar behind him. Starting from 6th on the grid, Fahad Kutty (Mohammed) made a brilliant overtaking move to pass Shankar (Karthik) for 3rd position on lap 2.



As he closed on second-placed Saran Vikram he clipped the tyre barrier into the first corner damaging his car in the process. He was unable to challenge Saran after that but did crossed the finish line in third place. He was later penalised for overtaking under yellow flags.

Prof Heizmann, Member of Board of Volkswagen AG, commented, "I would like to congratulate all the drivers for putting on a fantastic performance today. This is a proud day for motorsport in India and Volkswagen is really happy to be a part of it. We look forward to the rest of the season and am sure all the drivers will give it their best."

Karthik Shankar from Hyderabad finished in 3rd position while Vishnu Prasad (Chennai), Sahil Shelar (Pune) and Fahad Kutty rounded off the top 6. The only woman driver on the grid Alisha Abdullah finished in an impressive 14th place in her debut race.

There were a host of dignitaries present for the inaugural race of the Volkswagen-JK Tyre Polo Cup in India. This included Mr. Suresh Kalmadi, President, IOA, Mr. Suresh Shetty, Minister of Sports for the state of Maharastra, Mr. Raghupati Singhania, VP & MD, JK Tyre and Industries, Prof. Jochem Heizmann, Member of Board of Volkswagen AG, Mr. Joerg Muller, Volkswagen Group Chief Representative India and Mr. Kris Nissen, Volkswagen Motorsport Director.

Another surprise was in store as Bollywood actress Soha Ali Khan was invited to flag off the race, along with Prof. Heizmann and Mr. Kris Nissen. The Bollywood star was an instant hit with both the fans and media as she attended her first race.

Source:- Sailesh Bolisetti Wins Inaugural Race of Polo Cup India 2010 - New Cars

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Volkswagen Phaeton to launch in June; tagged at Rs 76.3 lakh

Volkswagen Phaeton will be launched in the next month and would be priced at Rs 76.3 lakh. The car would be brought in as a completely built in unit. This car would be the third CBU import by the company, the other two being the Touareg and the new Beetle. The car however has not received any booking as of now, perhaps due to the niche market it caters to, company sources suggest.



Volkswagen Polo, on the other hand has a waiting period of 3 months currently. The car was launched in March this year and has received tremendous response from the users. Depending on the model and the variant the car has waiting periods of nearly 2-3 months. The customers are getting impatient to get the delivery of their favourite car.

The booking amount for Volkswagen Polo Rs.50,000/-. The Chakan plant of the company which is occupied in the manufacturing of the car is escalating volumes as it is soon going to witness the production of its new sedan Volkswagen Vento. The production of Vento is expected to begin from July this year.

Neeraj Garg, member of the board and director, Volkswagen India, shared that there are over 9000 bookings of Polo so far which is a great indication as customers are ready to wait for the car even for a period of three months.

Volkswagen Polo is compared to Skoda Fabia many a times, but is priced much lower than the latter. Mr. Garg clarified here that although there are different brands in the segment and it is competitive but there is no conflict of any sorts.

Source:- Volkswagen Phaeton to launch in June; tagged at Rs 76.3 lakh - New Cars

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Volkswagen inaugurates its first outlet in Pune

Volkswagen India, a subsidiary of Germany based leading car-maker Volkswagen, has inaugurated its first authorised retail outlet in Pune, named as Volkswagen Pune. The company will be selling all of its India portfolio models at this outlet including Volkswagen Passat, Touareg, Beetle, Phaeton, Jetta, and recently launched Polo. Today, the company will write the next chapter of the success story of Volkswagen India, the inauguration of the first Volkswagen dealership here in Pune. the company is proud about this.



Because it is the sale of the cars that makes the success of the vehicle models "visible" – in the true sense of the word – when it is seen on the city roads or on the express highways. Distribution is a fundamental aspect of the sales precisely: it is the dealerships even more precisely; it is the families which operate the dealerships, said Mr Joerg Mueller, president & managing director, Volkswagen India Private Limited, on the occasion. Volkswagen India, which had recently launched its compact hatchback Polo in the country, which is receiving an overwhelming response from the Indian buyers of this segment, has grown significantly in past few months.



The company has plans of increasing its dealership base further in the country to reach-out more and more car buyers. At present, Volkswagen India has about 43 dealerships in the country and most of them are in major cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Bangalore. The new Volkswagen Pune outlet has enough space to display 10 cars at a time in its showroom with a 30 bay workshop which is enabled with state of art body paint workshop and accidental repair equipments.

Source:- Volkswagen inaugurates its first outlet in Pune - New Cars

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Volkswagen Polo witnessed spectacular stunts in Mumbai

Volkswagen India, recently held a stunt show at the Inorbit mall parking lot in Malad, Mumbai. What is the most exciting part, is the car used for the stunts. Volkswagen Polo, the company's newly launched hatchback was the beauty at the event. The stunt show was named as the "Polo Ultimate drive experience". The stunts were performed by world's best action performer Ronny Wechselberger. Ronny works with Volkswagen at their driving experience department in Wolfsburg.



The car was put across a series of driving tests like drifts, 360 degree turns, donuts and burnouts. The car performed well on all the fronts and charmed the audiences. Volkswagen Polo was recently launched in India and received a maddening response from buyers across India. The car has received such great responses that the demand has superseded the supply. There are more than 9000 bookings made already for the car at various dealer outlets of the company. Volkswagen is soon going to launch a sedan to compete against Honda City, called Volkswagen Vento. The production of this new upcoming sedan has already started at the company's plant at Chakan.

Source:- Volkswagen Polo witnessed spectacular stunts in Mumbai - New Cars

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Volkswagen Vento's production started at Chakan plant

Recently a few days back, Volkswagen revealed the sketch of its new sedan Volkswagen Vento. The current happening on the sedan is that its production has started at the Chakan facility of the company located near Pune. The plant also manufactures its popular hatchback model Volkswagen Polo. The communication head of Volkswagen India confirmed the news recently. Along with confirming the news of production of Vento, he also added that the car would be launched in the coming three months in India. Although the exact price range has not been officially disclosed there are speculations that it would be priced in the range of Rs. 9-10 lakh.



Since the announcement of this new sedan began, it was clear that the car would compete against Honda City, the current ruler of the segment. Volkswagen Vento would be powered by a 1.6L engine and is expected to deliver 105 bhp of power. The car would be launched in both Petrol and Diesel variants in India. According to the communication head of the company, there is a strict competition faced by the car in lieu of the upcoming sedans in India. Volkswagen Group India recently revealed that it would launch its high end car Phaeton in the month of June. With Polo doing extremely well and Phaeton soon to launch there is enough that the group can look upto.

Source:- Volkswagen Vento's production started at Chakan plant - New Cars

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Gestamp Automocion invests Rs 480 crore in Chakan Plant

Gestamp Automocion, a Spanish metal components vendor for Volkswagen India, has invested heavily (around Rs 480 crore) on its Indian facilities at Chakan, about 30 kms from Pune. Currently, the Gestamp Automocion produces an array of metal components for Volkswagen groups premium hatchbacks in India like Volkswagen Polo and Skoda Fabia.

Besides this, the Spanish company has 7 other joint ventures in the Indian market including four equal JV (joint venture) with Tata group's TACO (Tata AutoComp Systems Ltd). Among these JV's the major one is ASAL (Automotive Stampings and Assemblies) in which the Gestamp group holds 37.5 percent stake, with facilities in Chakan and Pune. The Group has a worth of Rs 3.5 billion euro with operations in many segments including the automotive component, steel service centres, renewable energy and the construction sectors.

According to Francisco Jose Riebras, Gestamp Automocion CEO, the company is already doing some R&D here for products made for the Indian market. But it could expand this to cater to the European and North American markets, too. Its plan is to grow in line with the Indian market because it believe India will be among the top five global automotive markets in 10-15 years.

Since its entry in the Indian auto component segment in year 2007, the Gestamp Automocion has grown considerably through JV's with many major Indian auto component players, including Taco and Sungwoo (an auto-comp company which has collaboration with Hyundai).


Source:- Gestamp Automocion invests Rs 480 crore in Chakan Plant - New Cars

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Volkswagen Phaeton now available at showrooms in India

Volkswagen Phaeton, a full-size luxury saloon, which was rolled-out at Delhi International Auto Expo in January this year is now on display at company's showrooms in major cities like Delhi and Mumbai. The all new luxury saloon is available with an ex-showroom price tag of Rs 76,29,128 in Delhi. The Volkswagen Phaeton was first introduced to the world market in Year 2002, at that year's Geneva Motor Show, and since then it has been introduced in many leading auto markets in the world including Europe and Middle East, South Korea and North America.
The model is powered with a 3.6L V6, 6-speed tiptronic transmission petrol engine that is capable of generating maximum power of 280 PS along with a maximum torque of 370 Nm @3500 rpm.

The Phaeton model is available with Volkswagen's segment leading quality-exterior features including head light washers, day time running lights, ORVMs with integrated turn signals and Bi-Xenon headlights with cornering lights.

With this, the interior has been designed elegantly with unique luxury features including the park distance control at front & rear with rear view camera, anti-theft alarm system with interior monitoring, telephone preparation with blue-tooth, ‘sensitive’ leather upholstery, 18-way front seat adjustment with memory function, navigation & USB and Genuine poplar wood inserts with analogue clock in the dashboard and an all new RNS810 music system with 10 loudspeakers.

The new Volkswagen Phaeton model is packed with all new generation safety features including the tyre pressure monitoring system, ABS (Anti-lock Braking Syatem), EBD (Electronic Brake-Force Distribution) and Multiple airbags (including side and curtain airbags).

Source:- Volkswagen Phaeton now available at showrooms in India - New Cars

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Volkswagen Rocktan; the SX4 based SUV

There have been recent reports in the automobile industry about the growing relationship between Volkswagen and Maruti Suzuki. After acquiring a good 19.9% stake in Maruti, there have been constant exchanges of Car knowledge between the two companies. According to the growing speculations the first product after their partnership would be Volkswagen Rocktan, a crossover SUV that is supposedly based on the SX4 platform.



The car would be joining the current line-up of SUVs in the segment and would be shelved between the CrossPolo and the Tiguan amidst the Volkswagen 's range of cars. It would function as a replacement of the CrossGolf.

The segment is growing in terms of competitiveness and the industry experts believe that the crossover would be hit against the Toyota Urban Cruiser and Nissan Juke. It is expected that the car would be powered by a 1.4-litre TSI engine in the petrol versions and by a 2.0-litre TDI engine for diesel buffs.

Although there are no exact details on the launch in India but the car is expected to launch soon. It would priced in the bracket of around Rs. 12,00,000, It may cost cheaper if it is built is India. As Nissan Juke is going to launch soon in India, the Rocktan might launch sooner than even expected, industry sources said.

Source:- Volkswagen Rocktan; the SX4 based SUV - New Cars

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