polo

Spied – VW Up! hatchback’s headlight

by Paul Joseph July 4, 2011 Featured

JokeForBlog has posted images of what it claims is the headlamp of the VW Up! rumored to premiere in France on the 22nd of August. Judging by the style of headlamps shown here, we assume each one resembles VW Group cars SEAT, Skoda and the VW’s version of the Up! The Up! brand will give birth to a line of compact vehicles which should include a MPV. Its official debut could be at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September. Buyers shouldn’t be surprised to find the Polo’s 1.2-liter diesel engine providing motive force to the Up! backed by a five-speed manual transmission. If the images shown here are indeed accurate, then you can expect to see them on cars that closely resemble the VW Up! concept cars. The Up!/Lupo will be smaller than Polo in length, but the tallboy design brings with it the ease in ingress and egress. The build and quality, especially the interior outfitting is going to be a point of keen interest to us. Can Volkswagen produce an Etios with a quality of a Polo? Volkswagen India hasn’t confirmed the Lupo for India but sources in the company told Indian Autos Blog that rebadging Maruti products is out of question. We don’t know of another small car under Polo in the works ( VW India ruled out the Fox ), so we’re assuming this is what Volkswagen India mean when they say they are working on a car below Polo. This is what VW India’s spokesperson told me when I visited their plant last year – No, the Fox is not our small car. We’re discussing the “Up!” internally. We still don’t know whether it is going to be Up! or another small car. Our next step is certainly a car below the Polo. It will have attributes of bigger Volkswagens like the Jetta or the Passat. Don’t mistake me, we will not build a Nano. For safety and quality reasons, we’ll not build one. We’re looking at making a car a segment higher than the Nano. We’ll have the full details when VW is interested in sending it our way. [Source - Jokeforblog.blogspot.com]

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Volkswagen building small car for India on Up! series

by Paul Joseph June 24, 2011 Featured

Manager Magazine has reported that an affordable car for China, India and Brazil next year will be based on the Up! series and cost 6,000 Euros (3.83 lakh rupees). As the debut of the Lupo (hatchback of the Up! series) nears, speculation is rife about it arriving here in 2012 with a 800cc petrol engine and 1.2-liter diesel engine. IAB readers will know that VW has dropped plans to sell rebadged Marutis in India and the new small car will have the “Volkswagen” name in block letters at the rear similar to the Polo and Vento. The Lupo will be seen for the first time at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September this year. A number of models are planned on the Up! platform and the possibility of a car under the Polo is exciting news to VW fanboys. The Lupo was caught testing along with its cousins from Skoda (Youngster) and Seat (Arosa) earlier this year. The model will be presented in both 3- and 5-door forms. Over the next few years we’re expecting to see hybrid and electric powertrains on the Up! family. A sedan on this platform can help Volkswagen capture a good market share in the Dzire/Etios category and a mini SUV on the low-cost Up! platform will enable them to price it under 10 lakh rupees. Sounds like a long shot? Read further. On the VW UK website, Volkswagen says – Volkswagen are developing a production version of the Up! and its family of cars The Up! will be presented this year, perhaps there will be a special media preview before the grand unveiling in Frankfurt. We are expecting Volkswagen to release additional details on the run up to the launch. [Source - Manager-Magazin.de ] [Rendering Courtesy - QuatroRodas.abril.com.br ]

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1.4-liter VW Vento is Polo Sedan for South Africa

by Paul Joseph May 31, 2011 Featured

After Polo Vivo and variants of the new Polo (CrossPolo, Polo GTI and Polo BlueMotion), Volkswagen South Africa has brought out the Polo sedan. To put in a nutshell, the Polo sedan is a LHD Vento with an additional engine. Marketed with the credo ‘La Semplicita – the simplicity’ advertisements highlight the design of the Polo sedan as the distinguishing factor from other players its community. In 2010, Volkwagen told IAB the Vento is exclusive to India and Russia (where it is sold as Polo) but that doesn’t hold good in 2011 as in the last six months we have seen the Vento testing in China and Malaysia , two markets expecting the Vento in following months. Volkswagen offers the Polo Sedan with two types of headlight, the “Trendline” has single headlights and “Comfortline” has twin headlights (on each corner, that is). click through to read more

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Skoda India’s sub 10 lakhs SUV – is it the mini Yeti?

by Paul Joseph May 19, 2011 Featured

Skoda India seems to be on a roll when it comes to making announcements of new products. Recently, the company officially went on the wires to confirm the sub-Fabia hatchback by 2013 . Now, the company has also made it official that they are in the process of analyzing feasibility for a sub 10 lakh SUV. Thomas Kuehl, Head of Sales and Marketing, Skoda Auto India – The SUV segment is not growing as fast as was expected. We have to go down and are looking at a product priced below Rs 10 lakh. We are working to increase our presence in the SUV category The Skoda Scout was recently caught testing near Chakan. Sure, it not really an SUV but more of a faux off roader. But still all hints point at the Scout because the only other options available to Skoda is Yeti which is already present in the market. Expecting the Skoda Yeti to shed more than 5 lakhs is utterly unreasonable. The third and a very realistic possibility is AutoExpress’ report back in March on a smaller Yeti possibly on the Polo platform for a 2012 debut. If this is the true story, then expect an all- new product on the Polo or Fabia platform. At the price below 10 lakhs, this mysterious Skoda SUV is expected to rival the Renault Duster and the Mahindra Scorpio. It will be interesting to see a new segment of baby SUVs perform. Source – Business-Standard.com

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Rendering – Next generation Volkswagen Polo

by Paul Joseph May 13, 2011 Featured

AutoBild has rendered the Volkswagen Polo facelift. The Polo facelift is expected to bow in by the end of 2013. The Polo facelift is expected to be a sort of a next generation car. Like how the Passat B7 is a based on the outgoing Passat but with thorough cosmetic changes and revamped interiors, the next generation Polo could take a similar path. We don’t find any major drawbacks on the Polo for a revamp. A set of cosmetic like LED clusters in the headlamp and a start-stop feature could be suitable for the Indian market. When IAB visited the Chakan plant in Pune last year, VW officials said the company had already started working on the next generation Polo which could have advanced technology funneled down from bigger Volkswagens. Volkswagen is also working on a set of new derivatives on the Polo platform including a SUV which could be branded as a Suzuki. Do we see the Maruti Gypsy revival based on the Polo? Source – AutoBild.de

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Can the Lupo be Volkswagen India’ sub-Polo hatch?

by Paul Joseph April 30, 2011 Featured

Although VW may have ditched the plan of putting a VW badge on the A-Star and selling it in the Indian Market, their entry level hatchback plans are still on track. VW is busy developing a brand new entry level hatchback just for the Indian Market. This hatchback is will be an important launch for VW India’s strategic goal to become one of the top OEM in the country. The new hatchback will be positioned below the Polo which make it VW’s cheapest offering in India till date. The new small car will feature a high level of localization otherwise VW can forget pricing it under the Polo. There are high chances of VW revealing this car in the 2012 Delhi Auto Expo (à la Tata Nano). What Volkswagen can do is offer a stripped-down version of the Lupo. The Lupo is a low-cost car and a part of the Up! family. There will be a host of cars built on the Up! platform. Volkswagen can build the sub-Polo car on the Up! platform. This also opens up a host of possibilities for Skoda (VW owns Skoda) because even Skoda wanted to introduce a Sub-Fabia car since ages to rival the Wagon R and i10. The new small car will go against existing players as well some new ones such as the Nissan’ sub-Micra hatchback , Fiat’s small car and many more. Looks like you buyers are going to be spoiled for choices even more! Inputs taken from FinancialExpress.com

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