PoloDriver

Today, Volkswagen India starts the pre-series production of its most anticipated mid-segment model, the new Polo, at its Pune plant. The new Minister for Economics, Labour and Transportation of the German Federal State of Lower Saxony, Dr Philipp Rösler, visited the plant at Chakan to give the go ahead for the first welded body of the car.

The Minister together with a delegation of around 30 leading business representatives of the German Federal State, were welcomed by Mr Joerg Mueller, President and Managing Director, Volkswagen Group India; Dr John Chacko, Managing Director Technical, Volkswagen India Private Limited and Mr K K Swamy, Vice President and Managing Director, Volkswagen India Private Limited.

In the presence of Minister Dr Rösler who is also Member of the Supervisory Board of Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft, and the German Consul General, Walter Stechel, the first finished body of the Polo on the way to the paint shop was given its first sanction. This production is a pre-run to the official production of the Polo that will begin at the plant by the end of this year.

For Volkswagen, the recent inauguration of the Pune plant on 31st March 2009 was a major stepping stone towards achieving its ambitious growth targets on the Indian subcontinent. The Pune plant will begin building the Škoda Fabia compact car in May 2009. Production of a hatchback version of the Volkswagen Polo specially developed for the Indian market will be added from 2010.

With a total financial commitment in India amounting to 580 million euros (3800 crore INR), the Pune plant represents the largest investment to date by a German company in the country. The facility has a maximum annual production capacity of 110,000 vehicles destined for delivery to the Indian market.

The Pune plant is one of the most modern in the Volkswagen Group. It has a high level of vertical integration and a large share of local suppliers. The facility is the only production plant operated by a German automaker in India that covers the entire production process from press shop through body shop and paint shop to final assembly. Volkswagen plans to employ some 2,500 people at the Pune plant by the end of 2010.

VW has been keen to show us the five-door version of the new Polo, but sportier-looking three-door has been conspicuous by its absence. Due later in the year, Motor Authority has published renderings of the fewer door and rumoured shorter wheelbase model on its US-based website. How close these latest pictures are to the official look is a mystery, but going on previous conservative VW form, they’re more than likely accurate.

With the same basic shape an outline as the five-door, the three-door looks immediately sportier, and as if it could carry off the GTI treatment with some style. Engines are rumoured to reflect the choices in the family friendly five-door, with new 1.2-litre 104bhp TSI and 1.6-litre 89bhp TDI units being the highlights.

As reported before, the new GTI is due to arrive sometime after the model’s official launch. With a new 1.4-litre TSI powerplant, it should kick out 168bhp and take styling cues from the recently launched Mk 6 Golf GTI. BlueMotion eco variants are also part of the plan, possibly even hitting the streets before the GTI.

Whether the next-generation Polo forms part of VW’s assault master plan in the US remains to be seen, but with the company keen to triple its sales in the continent, few would bet against it. Production of the car has just been announced in India, adding to its other worldwide assembly sites, making the Polo a truly global model.

[Images: Motor Authority]

Embracing the mobile gaming generation, Volkswagen’s new Polo promotion on the Apple iPhone platform has been a worldwide download hit.

Launched on the fashionable device on 3 March just as the real car was unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show, it took just two weeks for the Volkswagen Polo Challenge game to notch up a number one placing on the download charts in 39 countries, and enter the Top 10 of the US download charts.

Within four weeks of its launch the interactive 3D game has been even more of a success; over 1.4 million copies have now been downloaded. Exceeding all expectations, the US high chart position is especially staggering; the car is not even sold there.

Keen to repeat the success, Volkswagen may decide to embrace the medium once more with future model releases. Targeting the younger demographic with the eight-course game and interactive marketing tool, it remains to be seen how many virtual-world downloads are translated into actual real-world new Polo sales.

The Volkswagen Polo is now a global car, with versions on sale in Europe, Australia, China, South Africa, and South America. Manufactured in all these locations, too, Volkswagen is to introduce the car to the emerging Indian market in 2010, and opened its plant in Pune on 31 March.

With a maximum annual production capacity of 110,000 vehicles (almost all of which will be for the local market), the new factory complex will play a major role towards achieving the Volkswagen Group’s growth targets on the Indian subcontinent.

The 580 million euro Pune facility will be the Volkswagen Group’s 61st production site, and heralds the largest investment in India by a German company to date. The Škoda Fabia will be the first model to be produced in Pune, adding to the other Audi, Škoda, and Volkswagen models built in VW’s Aurangabad plant.

Production of a specially-developed version of the new Polo for the Indian market will start in 2010, and Volkswagen Group brand communications head, Kurt Rippholz, has reportedly said that two versions will be available – both a hatchback and a saloon. The Polo name has been confirmed for the market, too, further entrenching the model’s heritage.

Exciting times then, for the mainstay of Volkswagen’s small car line-up. With rumours persisting about a debut in the US, and a full roll-out of the new-generation model later in 2009, Volkswagen is clearly pushing to make the Polo even more of a global car.

Volkswagen only pulled the covers off the new generation of its supermini challenger last month, but, ready for the European launch this summer, there’s already a TV spot for it.

And, surprise surprise, it’s aimed at cool and beautiful twenty- or early thirty-somethings who seem to have a very desirable lifestyle. Nice film, though.

(Thanks to The German Car Blog.)