Volkswagens upcoming compact sedan Vs. opponents: An Uphill Task!

Update: There has been a lot of revamps and upgraded versions of popular car seen at the Auto Expo 2016, but the German automaker Volkswagen brought out a new model dubbed as Volkswagen Ameo. This new car would be entering the sub-4 metre compact sedan category, a segment which already has a lot of competitors in the form of Honda Amaze, Maruti Swift Dzire and Chevrolet Sail. Made for India, Volkswagen Ameo looks beautiful and will be available in two engine options including 1.2 litre diesel 3 cylinder MPI petrol and the TDI diesel with 1.5 litre capacity. Click to read more about the VW Ameo at Auto Expo.

While launching the updated Vento in India last week, Volkswagen announced four more introductions in the coming two years- a sub-4 meter compact sedan in 2016 being the most anticipated amongst those.

This car will be German automaker’s first attempt in the very competitive segment that is single-handedly dominated by Maruti Suzuki DZire by quite a margin. Amaze from Honda, Tata Zest and even Hyundai’s Xcent are also there in the segment trying their fates, but none of these could reproduce the success that DZire has been churning out since its launch.

The sales figures of past three months also put light on the same fact. Whereas Maruti Suzuki retailed almost 18,000 units in a month during the past quarter, the second in the list- Hyundai Xcent could only manage to sell 4,500 units during the same tenure, which accounts for just 25 percent of the DZire’s total sale.   

Honda, which sold more than 8,000 Amazes in March, witnessed a drastic slump and was able to sell close to 3,000 units in the next two months of the last quarter. While the newest amongst the four Tata Zest faced a minor low, and clocked between 2,000-2,500 units in the same time.

These figures clearly indicate that competing against the segment-leader DZire won’t be that easy. When the second largest manufacturer of the country with ASS(After Sales Service) as good as the leader’s was able to garner just 25 percent of DZire’s sale. Keeping this fact in mind, Volkswagen will have to really pull up their socks to beat that, in terms of product as well the service network. Though, localization will be the key to success in this arena and you never know that this product might be the fate-changer for the German automaker in the country. 

Watch Showcase Video of 2016 Volkswagen Ameo

Data Courtesy: SIAM