Volkswagen begins Vento production at Chakan plant

Volkswagen India has begun production of its mid-sized sedan,the Volkswagen Vento from its plant in Chakan near Pune. Vento is the first car from the Volkswagen stable that will be exclusively manufactured in India.

Joerg Mueller,Volkswagen Group chief representative,India and president and managing director ,Volkswagen India ,said Volkswagen aims to achieve a market share of eight to ten percent in the next four to six years with the three Volkswagen Group brands,Audi,Skoda and Volkswagen. “The Vento is the 18th model from the Volkswagen Group in India of which three are fully produced in Pune and eight are assembled in Aurangabad. These products – and in particular the Volkswagen Polo and Volkswagen Vento – will help Volkswagen increase its market share in this rapidly growing market significantly. Volkswagen is also in line with the planned ramp-up curve of achieving the full annual production capacity of 110,000 cars at the Chakan plant by end 2011,” he said. A month ago the second shift was introduced and there was an increase in the number of employees to more than 2000 for the production of Polo and Vento. Vento comes with a longest wheel-base in the premium mid-size sedan segment making it exceedingly comfortable for the rear-seated passengers- a need for most Indian customers in this segment. After launching its compact car Polo in February this year,the Vento is Volkswagen’s second car targeting the mass market. It will be positioned at the upper-end of the country’s mid-sized sedan segment.

The Volkswagen Vento will be available in both petrol and diesel variants. The petrol variant is equipped with a 1.6 litre engine with an output of 105 PS @ 5250 rpm and a Torque of 153NM @ 3800 rpm. With a total financial commitment amounting to Rs. 3,800 crores,the Volkswagen plant in Pune is the largest investment to date by a German company in India.