Success is not always about numbers but at times you just cant ignore them. It was announced earlier that Ford is celebrating the production of its 300,000th Figo. When the auto world was rejoicing this proud moment, reports of another achievement reached the masses. The mighty Volkswagen Group’s Indian subsidiary has reported that on the 5th of August 2013, it manufactured its 300,000th vehicle at the Pune plant. Looks like the number 300,000 is hot amongst the car manufacturers these days.
VW is not new to India. It has been a part of the Indian automobile market since 2001. The VW group in India has a hold over 5 leading brands viz. Audi, Skoda, Lamborghini, Porsche and Volkswagen. The company launched itself in India with Skoda in the year 2001. The marques Volkswagen and Audi arrived much later in the year 2007. The latest to enter the Indian market were the Lamborghini and Porsche in the year 2012. All of these 5 brands are renowned globally and have their own esteemed positions in the Indian market. Overall the VW group has 25 of its model running in India. The group is selling its cars through 262 dealerships all across the nation.
The cars are being manufactured for the group at the production plants in Aurangabad and Pune. The plant in Aurangabad largely manufactures the luxury models for Skoda, Audi and Volkswagen which are sold in India and has an annual production capacity of 89,000 cars. The Pune plant located in Chakan, was started in 2009 and has an annual production capacity of 1,30,000 cars. This plant produces the Skoda Fabia and Rapid and Volkswagen Vento and Polo. The Volkswagen Group is a division of Volkswagen AG and globally it is represented by 12 renowned and magnificent brands which are Volkswagen Passenger cars, MAN, Volkswagen Commercial vehicles, Volkswagen, Skoda, SEAT, Scania, Porsche, Lamborghini, Ducati, Bugatti, Bentley and Audi.
The 300,000th vehicle that we are talking about is a left hand drive, white coloured VW Vento. The Pune plant with its high quality production and large production volume, fulfills the company’s Indian demands and at the same time offers it with optimum exports. Vento is being produced at this plant since the year 2010 but its export started in this year to the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) member states Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Oman, Bahrain and Qatar. The company exports its models to 30 countries which mainly include African and Middle East nations.
Commenting on this achievement, The Executive Director Technical at Volkswagen India Private Limited, Mr. Andreas Lauenroth said that “The roll out of the 3,00,000th car is indeed a matter of pride for us. The left hand drive Vento is a proof of the international quality products being manufactured at our plant in India. The Vento and Polo are being exported to over 30 countries from our facility in Pune. I would like to congratulate the entire team of Volkswagen India which has contributed greatly to achieve this landmark today.”
President and Managing Director of Volkswagen India Private Limited, Mr. Mahesh Kodumudi, said that “The Vento in itself is a milestone for Volkswagen in India. Though it was a car designed and built for India, it got wide acceptance in the international market as well and slowly grew to reach even the left-hand drive markets. Today, this car has achieved another milestone by being the 3,00,000th car to roll out of Pune Plant.”
