Czech automaker Skoda Auto, which drives the Volkswagen Group's business in India, is looking to diversify into markets other than Europe, revealed the company’s CEO, Klauss Zellmer, during his India visit.
Preparing to jump on the electric vehicle ‘growth train’ in India, Zellmer talked of the company’s plans to build its “second pillar” here, localise the CMP21 platform, and bring in a smaller electric car.
“We’re now number three in Europe and we’re making good money. In fact, we’re one of the most profitable volume car manufacturers in the world. But, we depend very much on Europe, and to depend on just one region is not a good idea,” Zellmer said, while explaining the company’s intention to shift its focus away from China and the US instead of “learning the hard way” like some other car companies did.
“We want to develop a second pillar or second leg in India to stand on. That’s why we have plans to localise the multi-traction CMP21 platform, and not just battery electric vehicles,” he added.
Skoda Auto Volkswagen India manages the Indian operations of five Volkswagen Group four-wheeler brands – the Skoda, Volkswagen, Audi, Porsche and Lamborghini.
Also Read: PM: Govt, automakers must join forces to be self-reliant
Under its ‘India 2.0 Project’ announced in 2018, the VW Group had announced an investment of 1 billion euros between 2019 and 2021, with Skoda Auto leading the drive for growth.
Although Zellmer did not confirm reports of the VW Group’s plans to invest 1 billion euros in India, he said their plan is to introduce a care that is “made for India, and then (made) in India” instead of bringing in cars that are sold in Europe, such as Skoda Epic.
After the “pretty successful” foray of the company’s Enyaq electric SUV that was brought to test the waters in India, Zellmer said they want to bring in electric vehicles only after localising their CMP21 platform.
"We are going to bring it over as a technology, but we're going to localise and source everything for the platform in India for India,” he said about the platform that is engineered and developed in China.
In the distant future, however, the group does plan to bring in another small battery electric vehicle that will be compliant with the country’s carbon emissions rules.
Satisfied with the overall performance of the Volkswagon Group and Skoda in India under their India 2.0 project, Zellmer said they had doubled their sales this year as compared with the last, especially when it came to the sales of their compact SUV, Kylaq. “The Kylaq is a good story, a success story, so we'll take it from there,” he said.
Zellmer also said he is appreciative of the government's GST reforms, an initiative that will “help boost the car industry and car sales that are currently stagnating rather than soaring”.
"I think it is the right decision. It drives consumers towards the lower end of segments, which is totally okay because with Skoda and VW, this is where we have a lot on offer,” said Zellmer, adding that they are bracing “intense competition in the market going ahead”.
Follow us
