Volkswagen Ameo Production Begins

German automaker, Volkswagen has rolled out the first Ameo from its Chakan facility. The compact sedan will lock horns with the Maruti Suzuki Swift Dzire, the Hyundai Xcent, the Ford Figo Aspire, the Honda Amaze and the Tata Zest.

Dr. Andreas Lauermann, president and managing director of Volkswagen India, present at the occasion said, "This day marks an important event in the journey of Volkswagen in India. The Ameo symbolises yet another first as it has specifically been created for the Indian customers". He added, "Due to the expected high demand for the Ameo, we have recently added a third shift to support the extra production volumes at our plant. We are committed to ensuring that our customers get their Ameo as soon as possible". The plant produces 500 cars in a day and VW plans to manufacture 150 units of the Ameo in similar duration. The launch is expected to happen by June 2016.

Before we give you a quick recap of what's on offer, do check our first impressions here. Pre-launch bookings for the Ameo have commenced and the company has already launched a smartphone app that is available for Android users.

Volkswagen is heavily banking on the Ameo to raise its domestic sales and is hoping to see a fifteen per cent rise in production level because of it. It is the latest entrant into the compact sedan space and VW is offering a host of segment first features such as rain sensing wipers, cruise control, static cornering lights, and a diesel + dual-clutch automatic transmission option. It will also get a touchscreen infotainment system, rear parking sensors and a reversing camera.

Both, petrol and diesel engines will be available with the Ameo. However, reports suggest that Volkswagen might launch the petrol variant first, with the diesel following suit at a later stage. The petrol variant gets a 1.2-litre, three cylinder engine paired with a 5-speed manual gearbox. The diesel on the other hand, is a 1.5-litre, four cylinder motor that can be had with a 5-speed manual or a 7-speed DSG automatic.

We will be getting our hands on the new Ameo in a couple of weeks. Do stay tuned for an in-depth review coming soon!