Taking on the trailing stride in its favor, Volkswagen India went on with its growth strategy and sets the next milestone in its operations with the commencement of the export of the Left-Hand Drive Volkswagen Vento to Mexico. In the future, Mexico will become the single largest export market for Volkswagen India with every second car produced for exports at the Pune Plant being sold there.
German engineering made in India by Volkswagen is in great demand worldwide. After having entered two continents ¬– Asia and Africa – the Volkswagen Vento, manufactured at Pune Plant, will now be seen on the streets of a third continent – North America.
Volkswagen India commenced export of cars manufactured at its Pune Plant in 2011with the export to South Africa and entered the Left-Hand Drive market in 2012 with the export to Middle East countries. The next big step in the growth strategy of Volkswagen India is the expansion of exports of the Left-Hand Drive Vento to the Mexican market. In a full production year, every second car from the export volumes manufactured at the Pune Plant will go to Mexico, thus making it the single largest export market for Volkswagen India.
The production of Left-Hand Drive Vento cars for the Mexican market has commenced and the first lot of cars has already reached there. The official market introduction of this model in Mexico will be in the beginning of November 2013.The Vento will be offered in the Mexican market in three drivetrain options.
“The Vento was specifically designed and built for Indian customers. However its success in a competitive market like India has opened up doors for exporting this car to various other markets,” said Mr. Kodumudi.“Expanding the exports to new and demanding markets is a testimony to the high quality and standards of manufacturing followed at our plant. Mexico will be an extremely important market for us as every second export car manufactured at the Pune Plant will be destined for Mexico,” he added.
“With the increase in exports of fully built cars, Volkswagen India can tackle the volatilities in the domestic automotive market and in the currency,” Mr. Kodumudi said. “However, despite the increasing export volumes, the primary focus for Volkswagen India will continue to be on the domestic Indian market,” he added.
Mr. Andreas Lauenroth, Executive Director – Technical, Volkswagen India Private Limited, said, “Export to Mexico is the second major step for us in2013 after having commenced the export of parts and components to Malaysia earlier this year in April. We, at the Pune Plant, are ready to ramp-up production of the Vento to meet the growing demands of our export markets.”
Volkswagen Pune Production Plant currently produces the Volkswagen Polo, the Volkswagen Vento, the Skoda Fabia and the Skoda Rapid. The exports from Pune Plant include the Right-Hand Drive Volkswagen Polo and Right- and Left-Hand Drive Volkswagen Vento.
