Ahead of the Auto Expo 2016, Volkswagen India took the covers off the Ameo, its first sub-four-metre sedan. The Ameo, which has been designed and engineered for the Indian market and manufactured at the company’s plant in Chakan, Maharashtra, will see its official launch in the second half of 2016.
Jürgen Stackmann, Board Member for Sales and Marketing, Volkswagen Passenger Cars, who visited India for the Ameo’s global reveal said, “India is an important market for Volkswagen and will become even more important in the future. Today, we present the next big step to you – a car that is specially designed for the Indian market. A car that is ‘Made for India’ and ‘Made in India’. We are confident that the Ameo will raise the bar in the dynamic compact segment.”
“During the next fiscal year, we will be launching four new models,” added Stackmann. These comprise the Ameo, new Passat, Polo GTi and the Tiguan SUV. The Tiguan, which will be introduced in the Indian market in 2017, will be locally assembled at Skoda Auto India's Aurangabad plant.
“The compact sedan segment continues to garner much interest among Indian customers and we are happy to mark our presence in this competitive and dynamic segment. Through the Ameo, we bring the highest technology and safety standards to the compact sedan segment”, stated Michael Mayer, Director, Volkswagen Passenger Cars India.
Two engine options
The Ameo will be available with both petrol and diesel engine options – a 73bhp, 1.2-litre, three-cylinder MPI and an 89bhp, 1.5-litre, four-cylinder TDI engine from the Polo. While the 1.2-litre petrol engine is mated to a five-speed manual gearbox, the 1.5-litre diesel engine will be available with five-speed manual transmission and seven-speed DSG transmission options. It is understood that the new engine assembly line helps Volkswagen achieve almost 80 percent localisation.
The Ameo, which is targeted at the young urban Indian, is a smart looker and has its boot quite well integrated within the sub-four-metre footprint. It bears typical Volkswagen styling of sharp, distinctive line and a sporty stance.
On the safety front, all variants come equipped with dual front airbags and ABS as standard. Additionally, the Ameo comes equipped with first-in-segment features like cruise control, rain sensing wipers along with static cornering lights and MirrorLink touchscreen multimedia music system.
Ameo may beef-up sales volumes
The compact sedan segment has been registering handsome double-digit growth in India and Volkswagen is keen to cash in on this huge demand with the Ameo, which will go up against the likes of the Maruti Dzire, Honda Amaze and the Tata Zest. In the nine-month April-December 2015 period, these three compact sedans have together sold 240,613 units (Dzire: 181,449 / Amaze: 41,831 / Zest: 17,333).
According to Volkswagen, India is to be the regional production hub for the Ameo. Meyer said, “The Ameo is going to be a game-changer for us.” While India is the focus market for sale of the new compact sedan, Volkswagen India will also explore foreign markets for export of the Ameo at a later stage. The company’s made-in-Chakan cars currently account for six percent of its sales. For the April 2015-December 2016 period, the company exported 55,163 units, recording 10.60 percent year-on-year growth.
“Volkswagen is bullish on the Indian market and expects it to be one of the world’s largest by 2020. India also the gateway to other countries in the region,” said Stackmann. The Indian arm of the German major, which has sold 35,016 cars in the April 2015-January 2016 period, desperately needs a fast-selling car to beef up volumes. The all-new Ameo could just be the weapon of change.