If you take the VW Up! and show it to a Texan, he’ll say “that’s not a car, that’s a golf car.” But the Up! is plenty big enough for the constricted city traffic of India, and it’s already been spotted testing there on numerous occasions.
Yet that’s not the full extent of their plans with the smallest of all VWs. The compact sedan market in India could see the launch of a three-box version of the Up! in coming years, according to The India Times.
This model will have to compete directly with the Maruti Suzuki Swift Dzire CS. Suzuki’s little sedan is doing well in India, and rivals from Honda and other manufactures are likely.
The source also says VW is working on a 1.5-liter diesel, downsized from the 1.6-liter. This is crucial for the Indian market, where automobiles are only classified for the small car category if they have engines displacing under 1.5 liters. But the unit could also be used as a universal replacement for the 1.2 TDI and 1.6 TDI, offering cost saving for VW through the use of common components.
This model will have to compete directly with the Maruti Suzuki Swift Dzire CS. Suzuki’s little sedan is doing well in India, and rivals from Honda and other manufactures are likely.
The source also says VW is working on a 1.5-liter diesel, downsized from the 1.6-liter. This is crucial for the Indian market, where automobiles are only classified for the small car category if they have engines displacing under 1.5 liters. But the unit could also be used as a universal replacement for the 1.2 TDI and 1.6 TDI, offering cost saving for VW through the use of common components.