The Love Bug Bites

Will the Volkswagen Beetle frighten customers with its Rs 22 lakh price tag?

IN 1931, when Adolf Hitler asked Ferdinand Porsche to develop a volks-wagen (people’s car), he had in mind a small car that could transport a family, at a price then commanded by a motorcycle. Sound familiar? The only resemblance between Ratan Tata’s dream car, the Nano, and the iconic Beetle that Porsche produced, is that they are both small cars.



Come October, Indians will have a chance to experience the Beetle, but as a completely built unit (CBU) imported from Volkswagen’s factory in Mexico. The car is to be introduced only in the TDI 1.9-litre diesel variant and will come equipped with a host of added features like cruise control, acoustic rear parking sensors and rain sensors. Volkswagen will also make state-of-the-art safety additions like airbags, traction control and an antiskid system. Unlike its European counterpart, the Beetle variant for Indian roads will come with a front engine, and be capable of achieving speeds of 180 km per hour. Although no one is commenting on the colours, historically the Beetle has been available in bright shades of red, yellow, blue and sparkling white.

However, as an imported CBU, the price is hardly likely to be that of a people’s car — don’t expect it to provide the Nano with any serious competition. The new Beetle is priced at just over Rs 9 lakh in the US; but with custom duties, freight and other charges, the price tag could virtually double in India. The other Volkswagen CBU in the market, the Touareg which was launched last year, is more than double its Rs 20 lakh US market tag. “We haven’t had any official announcements yet, but it should be tagged in the higher price bracket of luxury or lifestyle cars. There are a lot of different buyers in the market and I am sure many would think it worth investing in such a globally acclaimed car,” commented SK Gautam, Vice President, Operations, DD Auto World, a Volkswagen dealer in Delhi.



Volkwagen’s first car in India was the Passat, launched in 2006 and priced at just over Rs 20 lakh. The Jetta came in the next year, the price of which ranges between Rs 12 and Rs 16 lakh. Although sales of Volkwagen cars have not been revving up globally, in India the company reported a 69 percent increase in sales in 2008, reportedly from growth in sales of its two subsidiary companies Skoda and Audi.

Volkswagen doesn’t seem to be concerned by the downturn in the automobile industry. Ludwig Geerken, the project director for Volkswagen India, has already announced that Volkswagen’s investment decisions for India will not be altered.

This includes an investment of over Rs 3,000 crore for a new plant in Pune and an automobile research centre to improve quality of upcoming products. Volkswagen is also set to introduce the Polo hatchback in India by next year. “I don’t foresee any problems in making new investments and launching a new car at the end of this year,” says a confident Gautam.

But with car sales down by 7.5 percent in January this year, and the only excitement likely to be the upcoming Nano launch, the Beetle is unlikely to take a major bite out of the Indian market.