German automaker Volkswagen expects an acceleration in its passenger vehicle sales in India — from 20,000 plus units in FY21 to about 30,000 units in FY22 and to 60,000 units in FY23 — helped by new launches, network expansion and improved brand trust and associated initiatives.

The company is relying on its new SUV Taigun, which will formally be launched on September 23, to accelerate sales as the German-engineered SUV is entering a segment which has been reporting strong growth.

“We are coming into the right segment, which is actually growing manifold. This mid-size SUV segment has actually grown more than 90 per cent compared to last year. But the options for customers are limited in this segment. So, it is the right time to enter. Honestly, the response to Taigun has been beyond our expectations as we have secured more than 6,500 pre-bookings within a week. This is an encouraging number without unveiling the variant and price details,” Ashish Gupta, Brand Director, Volkswagen Passenger Cars India told BusinessLine here.

During the first quarter of this fiscal, the share of SUVs in the PV industry was estimated at about 40 per cent. The entry-SUV and the mid-SUV segments are roughly equal in terms of volumes.

“The preference has shifted more towards SUVs and that is a very clear trend. Secondly, customers are looking to upgrade to something bigger and more global product with features and safety. This segment of customers is very big and is growing globally and more so in India,” he added.

New sedan in April 2022

While the SUV Taigun is the first product under Volkswagen’s India 2.0 project, it is also preparing to launch a new mid-size sedan in April 2022. “It will be a global sedan (mid-size sedan in India). Though the trend is towards SUV, we will have a mix of sedans and SUVs as sedans have their own set of customers. Also, Volkswagen’s DNA and lineage in sedans and hatchbacks have always been strong,” said Gupta.

The company has an interesting sales mix. About one-fifth of its buyers are in Tamil Nadu and Kerala now as, Gupta pointed out that, people in the southern States are giving a lot of weight to safety and build quality.

“This is something which I would like to carry forward to other parts of the country where the look and feel of the car are more important. As safety is the talking point now, we have good learning from south customers to actually go out and convince customers in other regions,” he added.