BWI: Volkswagen Group India achieves impressive sales growth of 180.7 per cent in 2010

Press release from Business Wire India
Source: Volkswagen
Friday, January 21, 2011 09:46 PM IST (04:16 PM GMT)
Editors: General: Consumer interest; Business: Advertising, PR & marketing, Automotives, Business services, Media & entertainment; Automotive
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Volkswagen Group India achieves impressive sales growth of 180.7 per cent in 2010


Pune, Maharashtra, India, Friday, January 21, 2011 -- (Business Wire India) -- . Total Group deliveries of 53,341 vehicles from January to December 2010, comprising Audi, Skoda and Volkswagen brands
. Volkswagen Group India more than doubled the employees in 2010
. The year was characterised with the launch of 3 new cars - Volkswagen Polo, Volkswagen Vento and Skoda Yeti

Volkswagen Group continued its success story in India with the company delivering its best sales figures in the Indian market since entry. The Volkswagen Group which is present in India with the three brands - Audi, Skoda and Volkswagen - achieved an extraordinary growth in deliveries to customers of 180.7 per cent in the period January to December 2010. The three brands together delivered in total 53,341 vehicles to customers in 2010 as compared to 19,001 cars in 2009.

The year 2010 has been a landmark year for the Volkswagen Group in India with the launch of three new cars that have been well accepted by customers, the launch of Polo Cup India, launch of the Volkswagen training academy and many other new initiatives. The Volkswagen Group continues to strengthen its presence in India and is moving towards making a mark in the country. With more than doubled the number of employees to 4,537 in 2010 from 2,116 in 2009, the Group has also taken the number of its dealerships to 163.

The Volkswagen brand has emerged as the largest selling brand of the Group in the period with impressive sales figures of 30,319 vehicles in 2010 as against 2,801 cars sold in the year 2009, a big leap of over 500 per cent. Skoda sold 20,019 cars in 2010 as against 14,535 cars in 2009, a growth of 37.7 per cent. Audi reported a growth of 81.1 per cent with 3,003 vehicles sold in 2010 as against 1,658 vehicles sold last year.

Snapshot of deliveries to customers achieved in India - January to December 2010 v/s January to December 2009:

Snapshots

Pleased with the Group's performance, Dr. John Chacko, Volkswagen Group Chief Representative India and President and Managing Director, Volkswagen India Private Limited said, "This rise in the sales figures has just made us more confident of our acceptance in the Indian market. We believe in providing high quality products to our customers. I am also glad that our two new entrants, the Volkswagen Polo and The Volkswagen Vento, are among the best selling cars in their segments." He continued by saying that, "The second half of the year 2010 saw a major acceleration in our growth as we introduced the Volkswagen Vento and Skoda Yeti, ramped-up production at the Chakan plant and grew along with our vendors. We expect 2011 to be another positive year for the Volkswagen Group in India."

Volkswagen Group cars at a glance

. In the year 2007, the Volkswagen Group had 6 cars in India namely the Audi A6, Skoda Octavia, Skoda Laura, Skoda Superb, Skoda Fabia, and the Volkswagen Passat.
. In 2010, the Volkswagen Group in India has raised its list of offerings to 18 cars. Audi offers the Audi TT, A4, A6, A8, Q5, Q7 and the R8. Skoda offers the Superb, Fabia, Laura and Yeti. Volkswagen has the Vento, Polo, Beetle, Jetta, Passat, Touareg and the Phaeton

In 2010 the best-selling car from Volkswagen was the Polo. 18,640 Volkswagen Polo cars and 6,973 Volkswagen Vento cars were sold from January to December 2010. Both the cars are manufactured at the Chakan plant in Pune.

The best selling cars of Skoda in 2010 were the Fabia which sold 8,266 units and the Laura which sold 6,893 units. The Fabia is amongst the popular choices in the hatchback segment. It is manufactured in the Chakan plant in Pune while the Laura is manufactured at the Aurangabad plant.

Audi A4 and Audi A6 are amongst the top luxury cars in India and were the best selling models from the Audi stable in 2010. 1,186 Audi A4 cars and 669 Audi A6 cars were sold from January to December 2010. Both these cars are assembled at the Aurangabad plant along with the Audi Q5. In the luxury SUV segment too, Audi continues to retain its leadership position with the Audi Q5 and the Audi Q7 registering impressive sales.

About Volkswagen Group India. With its headquarters in Pune, Maharashtra, the Volkswagen Group is represented by three brands in India: Volkswagen, Audi and Skoda. The Volkswagen Group is completing 10 years of its India journey which began with the entry of the Skoda brand in 2001, Audi brand and Volkswagen brand in 2007. Each brand has its own character and operates as an independent entity in the market. With 18 models in India and 163 dealerships, Volkswagen Group India is all set to capture the Indian market with the inauguration of the Pune plant which has an investment of Rs 3,800 crore (580 million Euros) and a production capacity of 110,000 cars annually.

Volkswagen Group India is a part of Volkswagen AG, which is globally represented by 9 brands- Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, Scania, Seat, Skoda, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles (Volkswagen Nutzfahrzeuge) and Volkswagen Passenger Cars.
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CONTACT DETAILS
Alexander Skibbe, Volkswagen Group Communications, +91 9765404647, alexander.skibbe@volkswagen.co.in
Pradnya Joshi Chaudhury, Volkswagen Group Communications, +91 9764999349, pradnya.chaudhury@volkswagen.co.in
David Vaz, 20:20 Media, +91-9322652611, david@2020india.com
Jithan Purushothaman, 20:20 Media, +91-9890883204, jithan@2020india.com

KEYWORDS
CONSUMER, MARKETING, AUTOMOTIVE, BUSINESS SERVICES, MEDIA, AUTOMOTIVE

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