Volkswagen India plans to double sales in 2022

5. May 2022

German automaker Volkswagen plans to more than double its sales in India this year. This is said to be based on high demand for the Taigun and Tiguan SUVs, as well as the soon-to-be-launched Virtus midsize sedan. Over the past two years, Volkswagen India has posted growth of nearly 30 percent despite the Covid 19 pandemic and several lockdowns, according to Ashish Gupta, brand director of Volkswagen Passenger Cars India. “With an all-new product portfolio, we can more than double our sales,” Gupta said. Volkswagen plans to sell more than 60,000 new cars in India this year, according to a report in the Economic Times of India. In comparison, the automaker sold about 26,000 units last year. Cars and their components must be certified in India according to AIS guidelines.

Volkswagen, which is currently transitioning its production to meet the needs of the local market, expects to launch the Virtus sedan around the end of May 2022. The model will appear under the new “Euro 1 Billion India 2.0” strategy of the group’s local subsidiary, Volkswagen India. The Virtus will compete in the market with vehicles such as the Honda City, Maruti-Suzuki Ciaz and Hyundai Verna. While most Indian automakers are focusing on new SUVs, Gupta said Volkswagen also wants to offer customers alternative options. “Sedans have a 12 to 14 percent market share of new passenger cars, which translates to 400,000 units sold annually,” Gupta said. The market segment in which the Virtus is positioned grew 28 percent last year. As a result, Gupta believes there continues to be strong customer interest in this segment, especially for a sedan from a European brand like VW.

Currently, about 100,000 midsize sedans are sold annually in India. Volkswagen expects growth in the segment to reach 50 percent this year. After the launch of the Virtus, Volkswagen is targeting a market share of between 12 and 15 percent for midsize sedans. On a closing note, Gupta had to admit that the global shortage of semiconductors also affected business and operations at Volkswagen India.

AIS stands for Automotive Industry Standards, the technical automotive standards for India, while TAC stands for Type Approval Certificate. This kind of automotive product certifiation is conducted by authorities like the International Center for Automotive Technology (iCAT).

Depending on the product category, there are different certification steps. We will be happy to advise you on certification in India like AIS and are always available to answer your questions.
Please do not hesitate to contact us for further details and consultation. You can contact us via e-mail, or call us (UK: +44 2071931135, Rest of Europe: +49 69 2713769261, US: +1 773 654-2673).
If you have any questions you can also use our chat-window in the bottom right. (Please check your browser settings if you can’t see the window)
You can also check out our free AIS-Brochure, which can be downloaded right here as a PDF file.