Volkswagen launches the New Polo in India

Feb 23, 2010, 12:26 GMT

New Delhi - German automaker Volkswagen launched its hatchback New Polo in India, the world's largest compact car market, on Tuesday at competitive prices, the firm said.

The petrol model is priced at 434,000 rupees (about 9,385 dollars) in Delhi, and the diesel variety at 532,000 rupees. They could cost a little more in other cities depending on local taxes, it said.

'The car has received an overwhelming response from customers during our showcase at the New Delhi Auto Expo,' Neeraj Garg, director of Volkswagen Group Sales India, said in a statement.

'India is a key market for our overall strategic growth plans,' Garg said.

Delivery of the New Polo petrol model would begin in March, the statement said, while the diesel car would be available from May.

The New Polo is being manufactured at the Volkswagen plant at Chakan, near the southern city of Pune. The plant has an annual production capacity of 110,000 cars.

India recently overtook Japan as the largest market for compact and sub-compact cars, at nearly 892,000 units in 2009, according to the marketing information firm JD Power and Associates.

As developed country markets go slow on economic recovery, carmakers like US giants Ford Motor Co and General Motors Co, South Korea's Hyundai Motor Co and France's Renault SA along with Volkswagen are all competing for a share of India's growing market.