Volkswagen India has announced its plans of assembling its new 1.5-litre TDI diesel engine at its Chakan plant near Pune. This new 1.5-litre TDI engine is the same one that was revealed with the recently launched Volkswagen Polo facelift.
To enable local assembly, Volkswagen has already invested 30 million euros (approximately Rs 250 crore) for a new engine assembly line and parts production in India. Volkswagen is expected to start assembling these towards the end of 2014. The company will also built a full-fledged engine testing facility at the Chakan plant.
With this, the carmaker has added to the list of products that it will assemble locally, thereby enabling more competitive pricing for its cars in India. Commenting on this development, Mahesh Kodumudi, group chief representative of the Volkswagen Group India and president and managing director of Volkswagen India said that this move "is the next important step in strengthening our commitment towards India. With this, we take a significant leap towards enhancing our localisation in India.”
The new assembly line will cover floor space of 3,450 square metres and can assemble over 98,000 engines in a three shift system at full capacity. Over and about the new Polo facelift, this engine will also power the new Polo GT TDI.