Volkswagen To Quit India? VW India Director Ashish Gupta Responds To Rumours

The brand with the reputation of premium and well-engineered vehicles intends to stay put

When Volkswagen announced that it will be stopping production for the decade-old Polo hatchback, it raised speculations that the brand might be looking to pull the plug on its Indian operations. However, we have it on good authority that Volkswagen has no plans to quit on the Indian market this early into its wave of brand-new models.

In a direct interaction with ZigWheels, the Director of Volkswagen India, Ashish Gupta, addressed these concerns, stating “This is when we have the youngest and freshest portfolio. I think for the next three-four years, this is a portfolio which is really going to get us volumes (Volkswagen is aiming for 3% market share in India)”.

“To have a sustainable presence in India, it's very important that we make these two cars (Taigun and Virtus) along with the Tiguan a success which is the backbone of our future plans” he added.

The Indian automotive space is no stranger to the departure of Western carmakers, especially those who have struggled to maintain a foothold in the market despite active participation for many years. Ford, which shut its Indian manufacturing operations in 2021 after years of losses and an aging portfolio of models, was the most recent reminder. Volkswagen has often been seen as a brand that gets dangerously close to that edge as its premium models fail to loosen the purse strings of most Indian car buyers. Just a few years ago, the VW Group decided to allay the fears of a sudden exit by announcing its new strategy for the Indian market, wherein Skoda would lead the charge with a slew of new and highly localised offerings.

While the Polo has been one of Volkswagen’s most consistently popular models in India, it is important to remember that the hatchback is also fairly old. The Mk5 Polo has been on sale here since 2010. Volkswagen debuted the sixth-gen iteration for various markets in 2017, and then gave it a facelift in 2021. So, the model that has only just been out of production was already five years overdue for a major overhaul.

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Currently, Volkswagen is focusing its efforts on the compact SUV segment with the Taigun, which has been outselling the Polo since launch. In the last five months, the Taigun has enjoyed over 2,000 monthly sales while the hatchback has only crossed the 1,000 unit mark once. In addition to that, the Virtus has also arrived on the scene to cater to the brand’s customer base of driving enthusiasts. Volkswagen has also revived its premium mid-size SUV presence with the facelifted Tiguan.

Rolling out a new-gen Polo built on the localised MQB A0 IN platform would require a lot of time and investment. With strong numbers rolling in from the Taigun, it almost makes sense for the German marquee to take its time with bringing the next-gen hatchback that would fit the purpose instead of rushing the process and possibly hurting the car’s positive brand image. As of now, the Polo’s successor seems likely to arrive sometime next year.

Related: New Volkswagen Polo Could Arrive By 2023 At A Higher Price

With all those factors in mind, Volkswagen is not in the same boat as Ford was in 2021. It is trying to re-establish its positioning as a premium yet mass market brand once again by introducing new cars and focussing on the SUV segments to drive sufficient volumes. The company is renewing itself and its lineup and temporarily discontinuing its oldest, albeit most affordable, model as part of the process to ensure a sustainable future for the brand in India.