The New Indian King

Some seek and find themselves in India – be it at an Ayurveda seminar, in a yoga school or on a backpack trip through this incredibly colourful, diverse, inspiring country. ?KODA has also reinvented itself in India over the past two and a half years. And with the KUSHAQ, we are now adapting an entirely new approach.

We launched the India 2.0 project in 2018, making a firm promise: To develop and produce ?KODAs in India with our Indian colleagues for Indian customers.

The Indian market offers immense potential for ?KODA AUTO: Experts predict the car market will almost double by 2035; it will soon be the third largest in the world. For this reason, we made the very easy decision to pick up the pace and take our Indian business to the next level:

In January 2019, we opened our Technology Center in Pune, laying the foundation for the development of products based on the localized MQB-A0-IN platform. Our Goal: Delivering state-of-the-art technology from the VW Group to Indian customers – at a competitive price.

By merging the three Indian companies to ?KODA AUTO Volkswagen India Pvt. Ltd in July 2019, we created one of the essential prerequisites to working much more efficiently together on all levels. And in February 2020, we presented the ?KODA VISION IN, a design study highlighting what we have in store...

Our Goal: Delivering state-of-the-art technology from the VW Group to Indian customers – at a competitive price. 

This March – just two and a half years after the start of INDIA 2.0 – we are celebrating the World Premiere of the ?KODA KUSHAQ, our first model of the product campaign. With this all-new car, we are opening a new chapter in the history of ?KODA in India. And we are adopting an entirely new approach to the country.

What does this mean?

Firstly, our Indian operations act independently, but with full backing from the headquarters. Our colleagues from India know exactly what our Indian customers expect. We can build on our 20-year legacy and use this foundation to become part of many more Indian people’s lives. Alongside Volkswagen, our goal is to achieve a joint market share of 5 % by 2025.

Secondly, we are extending our roots to India: We are investing heavily in the Chakan plant, our Pune Technology Center and our ?KODA AUTO DigiLab India, where we develop digital mobility solutions perfectly attuned to our Indian customers’ needs. And we are continuing to strengthen our dealer network.

And thirdly, we are putting tremendous effort into localization – 95 per cent of the new KUSHAQ will be made in India.

We are putting tremendous effort into localization – 95 per cent of the new KUSHAQ will be made in India.

In a nutshell, India 2.0 plays an important role in maximizing our production capacities. ?KODA has the potential to sell 1.4 to 1.5 million cars worldwide in the coming years, and we are counting on the Indian market. And so is the International Monetary Fund; it predicts India’s economy will grow by 11.5 % in 2021.

That is why India is an integral part of our ‘NEXT LEVEL ?KODA’ program for the future. It summarises how we are leading the company through the new decade, focusing on three priorities: We are expanding our model portfolio towards the entry-level segments. We are exploring new markets for further growth in the volume segment. And we are engaging with diversity and sustainability in every aspect of our work.

The Indian market will be our blueprint for the new regions that we are responsible for on behalf of the Volkswagen Group.

The foundation for this has been laid: Since the beginning of the year, we have been responsible for the North Africa region and Russia on behalf of the Volkswagen Group – on top of our responsibility for the Indian market, which will be our blueprint for the new regions.

We are looking forward to bringing the KUSHAQ to Indian roads as soon as possible. The first real Indian ?KODA – with an Indian name, naturally; we have adapted the spelling of the Sanskrit word “kushak”, meaning king or emperor. An ambitious name that perfectly reflects our ambitions in India. Thanks to the great team on site, I have no doubt that it will be a real success.