Ever since it started its journey in 2001 with the introduction of Skoda, Volkswagen never looked back and achieved milestones after milestones. Presently the Volkswagen brand line-up comprises of the very successful luxury brand Audi, Volkswagen itself and Skoda.
Volkswagen launched itself as a separate brand some time back and was an immediate success, thanks to cars like Volkswagen Polo and the India-specific Volkswagen Vento sedan. Vento was made specifically for the Indian market and was shaped while keeping in mind the needs of the Indian customers. Inspired by the success of the car, the company decided to export the same to overseas market in 2011.
Recently the company started manufacturing the left hand drive Vento variant meant for Middle East and African countries (new markets). And the first left hand driven Vento rolled out of the company’s Chakan plant was also the 200,000th production model of Vento.
The first left hand drive Vento, in white was rolled out in the presence of Dr. Hackenberg and Dr. Chacko.
Dr. Ulrich Hackenberg said,
“The Vento is an Indian car designed and built for Indian customers. The success of the Vento in a competitive market like India makes us confident that this product would be well accepted in other markets with similar needs. We are confident of repeating this success of our Vento in new export markets.”
Since last year the car is being successfully exported to South Africa. Dr. John Chacko said,
“Our export of the Vento to South Africa confirms that we are able to produce high quality cars in India at competitive costs. This shows our potential to further extend our export to new markets in the Middle East and African countries.”
Throwing some more light on the strategy of the company he further added, “Our focus is clear on the Indian market; however export is one tool to face volatilities in the automotive market and currency.”
With the 200,000th Vento, the company has not only achieved an important production milestone but has also commenced the production of left hand drive export models. Currently Volkswagen manufactures Vento, Skoda Fabia and Skoda Rapid at its Chakan plant.
