Volkswagen Polo struggles due to parts shortage

The shortage of components and several issues related to quality with few vendors have compelled Volkswagen to run up a waiting period of 3-4 months for its compact car, Polo. Volkswagen’s Polo is going through struggle for picking up pace as there is demand which is much higher than the expected one. 

This waiting period of Volkswagen has even prompted several potential customers to divert their decision towards some rival products like Ford Figo, Hyundai i10, GM Beat and Maruti Swift. A person close to the development said that the high demand for Volkswagens Polo has forced pressure on the vendors for ramping up the production. A company official also confirmed that there is a shortage of major components. He said that they are unable to get enough supply of tyres, which the company sources from local manufacturers. He further said that there could be huge quality issues if more pressure is put on the vendors.

According to the dealers, it is an opportunity for the rival products. A Mumbai based General Motors dealer said that they have seen a lot of enquiries by customers who have opted for other brands in the segment. So far, Volkswagen's Polo has been the most ambitious launch in India, by the company. It was launched with the purpose of gaining a foothold in the compact car segment. The compact car segment of India accounts for more than 70% of the overall passenger market.

Volkswagen could not foresee the monthly demand of about 2,500 vehicles. Also its vendors were quite slow to increase the capacity. An official of the company said that top-end variant’s high demand was also a surprise for the company. Volkswagen India had sold 3,742 Polos during the month of April-June. In the same period, Maruti Suzuki had sold 1.7 lakh small cars like Alto, Wagon R, Zen Estilo, Swift, Ritz and A Star. Other companies like Hyundai sold 74,059 units of Santro, Getz, i10 and i20, while Ford sold 18,495 units of Fusion and Figo.

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