Volkswagen India rolls out One millionth car from its Pune Plant in Chakan

• The celebratory car was made-for-India Volkswagen Ameo in an elegant Carbon Steel colour
• The important milestone is achieved right after Volkswagen Pune Plant completes its 10 years of manufacturing Volkswagen and Skoda cars for India and the world 
• With the INDIA 2.0 project, Volkswagen Group reaffirms its strong commitment to the Indian market 

Mumbai/Pune, April 19, 2019: Volkswagen Pune Plant today achieved a historic milestone as the one millionth car rolled out of its assembly line. The celebratory car, the made-for-India Volkswagen Carbon Steel Ameo, rolled out in presence of Mr. Gurpratap Boparai, Managing Director, Volkswagen India Private Limited, Mr. Steffen Knapp, Director, Volkswagen Passenger Cars India, the top management of Volkswagen Pune Plant and some of the oldest employees who have been part of the production department since a decade at Volkswagen Pune Plant.

The state-of-the-art manufacturing facility became operational on 31st March 2009 with the production of the first car, the SKODA Fabia. Three more models – Volkswagen Polo, Vento and Skoda Rapid soon started rolling off the production site by end of 2010. The plant which was initially set up for catering to the Indian market, also started exporting cars to various other markets beginning with South Africa in 2012. Mexico went on to become one of the most important destinations for the made in India cars and the Vento quickly became the highest selling Volkswagen in that market. Today, more than 400,000 cars manufactured from the Volkswagen Pune Plant have reached more than 50 different countries across four continents of the world including Asia, Africa, North America and South America.

Volkswagen has shown immense commitment towards the Indian market over the last 10 years of its operations in the country. The millionth car, an Ameo, is a fine example of how Volkswagen designed and built a car especially for the Indian market while considering the local customer and market requirements. The Volkswagen Group is further strengthening its commitment and hold in the market through its regional project INDIA 2.0. The focus of this project is to develop more cars that are relevant to the requirements of the Indian market on a platform that has been localised. The Volkswagen Group is investing 1 billion Euros (INR 8,000 crore) in this project and has already set up a Technology Centre at the Pune Plant to start local development.

Speaking on this historic occasion, Mr. Gurpratap Boparai, Managing Director – Volkswagen India Private Limited said, “Volkswagen India’s production facility is a global benchmark in quality and technological advancement in manufacturing, and it has remained the backbone of our growth narrative in India. On behalf of the entire management, I would like to congratulate the team at Volkswagen India who have worked relentlessly on achieving this milestone today.” He added, “The roll-out of the 1 millionth car is an important milestone for us in our long term commitment to the Indian market. We would like to build further on this milestone and work towards higher localization, ramping up production and manufacturing world-class products for the country and several other markets around the world in the future.”

Mr. Steffen Knapp – Director, Volkswagen Passenger Cars commented, “The one millionth roll-out of a Volkswagen carline is a testament of our strong brand equity in a dynamic and evolving market like India. This milestone is dedicated to all our employees, customers and strong network that have contributed significantly for the growth of our Brand in India. With this achievement, we look forward to many more such milestones and commit a stronger product portfolio and heightened customer experience in the years to come.”

About Volkswagen Group India: The Volkswagen Group is represented by five passenger car brands in India: Audi, Lamborghini, Porsche, ŠKODA, and Volkswagen. The Volkswagen Group has been present in India for the last 18 years and began its India journey with the entry of the ŠKODA brand in 2001. The Audi brand and Volkswagen brand entered India in 2007, while Porsche brand and Lamborghini brand followed in 2012. Each brand has its own character and operates as an independent entity in the market. Volkswagen Group India has about 30 models in India about 240 dealerships and is operating two plants – Pune and Aurangabad. The Pune Plant has a manufacturing capacity of 200,000 cars per year (maximum in three-shift system) and is currently manufacturing Volkswagen Polo, Ameo and Vento and ŠKODA Rapid. The Aurangabad Plant assembles various premium and luxury models of Audi, ŠKODA and Volkswagen sold in India and has an annual maximum capacity of approximately 89,000. Volkswagen Group India is a part of Volkswagen AG, which is globally represented by 12 brands - Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Ducati, Lamborghini, Porsche, Scania, SEAT, ŠKODA, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, MAN, and Volkswagen Passenger Cars.