Volkswagen has been quiet on the new-car front for some time now. Other carmakers may have been going hammer and tongs at the market with new car projects, but VW has been a bit conservative. All this could change in the near future as the German company has all but given the green light for the production of its new compact SUV, the Taigun, in India.
Based on the Up platform, with bits and pieces taken from the Polo and others, it is a car that, on the face of it, seems to gel nicely with market conditions here. VW, however, is having to burn the midnight oil to get costs down. It wants to be competitive on price and that could mean dropping costs in certain areas in a smart manner. What the company could do is reduce quality in places where car buyers can’t see it. VW is also looking to localise up to 85 or 90 percent of the car in an effort to keep costs down. This would mean that the VW Taigun would have a higher local content than even the Polo or the Vento.
VW is expected to make plenty of changes from the European production car as well, especially for India. The production Taigun is expected to have a longer bonnet and front overhang to help fit the larger 1.5-litre TDI engine (not a problem as this concept car is less than four metres long even with the tailgate mounted spare wheel), the dash is likely to sprout a centrally mounted air-con vent (currently absent) and VW is trying to extend the rear overhang as well, to help give passengers in the back more legroom. The Taigun concept already has a 50mm longer wheelbase than the Up hatchback it is based on, but more legroom is needed. If VW gets this one right, and it must, it could be one of the most exciting cars around.
Viraaj Bhatnagar
Dipan Sur
Dhruv Dhaka
