Volkswagen is aiming to be the world’s number 1 carmaker by 2018 and is going all guns out by starting up new assembly lines, expanding the production facilities which are in operation and are looking to invest heavily to reach their goal. Now even though they may invest a huge chunk of their future investments in their luxury brands, it will be the responsibility of the mass-market cars to up the ante and make the VW group the leader.
Renault has revived their Datsun brand for low-cost and emerging markets while Renault will be using their Dacia brand to capitalize on such markets. Renault-Nissan alliance has pretty much announced that their cars will be based on the Russian Lada platform which will become a wholly owned subsidiary of the company by 2014. Suzuki will be using Maruti as their low cost brand and if VW aims to be the numero uno, it better pull up its socks against these brands as these are the brands which will pose a serious threat to their success.
VW is expected to enter the low cost car market by 2016 and the cars based on their UP! platform shall take the charge. The cars are expected to be priced around 5,000 Euros which would mean that these cars shall cost somewhere in the range of Rs. 3 to 4 lakhs when they reach our country. It would be after its debut in emerging markets that the low cost brand from the house of VW shall reach European shores just because it is more of a premium market than markets like India, Russia and Africa.
India is the center of the low cost car market as India has the world’s top two cheapest cars on offer- Tata Nano and Maruti Suzuki Alto. Renault-Nissan chief is expected to come to India to reveal their next low cost cars which points towards the importance the Indian market commands. And entry of a premium brand such as VW in the low cost market could dent other low cost brands severely. But it is expected to enter by 2016. We just fear that by then Datsun and Dacia would have had a strong footing in the Indian market and it might be a little too late by then.
Source: Auto News
