It is a moment of celebration for Skoda Auto Volkswagen India Private Limited as the group has managed to cross six lakh exports across the Skoda and Volkswagen range of models. It is an impressive feat for the group that began exporting its models in 2011 with the Volkswagen Vento and Polo. Currently, the group produces its models from the Chakan plant in Pune and the Shendra plant in Aurangabad.
Currently, the company claims that its India 2.0 models which include the Volkswagen Virtus, Volkswagen Taigun and Skoda Kushaq are finding strong demand in Mexico, GCC
countries, Sub Sahara, North Africa and other Asian markets. Also, the Skoda Kushaq has been the first Skoda model to be exported from India.
Piyush Arora, Managing Director and CEO, Škoda Auto Volkswagen India Private Limited said, “Exports from India are an integral part of our global strategy. Crossing the 600,000 units mark is a significant milestone. India’s strategic geographical location and the engineering capabilities here have been a key to our growing exports. It is a matter of great pride for us that the successful legacy of exports built by the India-made VW Polo and VW Vento continue to be carried forth by the Volkswagen Taigun, Volkswagen Virtus and Škoda Kushaq, which are enjoying the same acclaim and acceptance globally, as they do in India. Very soon we will see the Škoda Kushaq and Škoda Slavia find their way to Vietnam through the parts and components route. This success exemplifies our steady commitment to ‘Make in India’ for both the domestic market and the world, with a clear focus on engineering each product for international excellence.”
The group plans on expanding its export network as the Skoda Kushaq and Slavia models are slated for exports to Vietnam as parts and components from 2024. For this, a 16,000 sq. m plant is in the works at the Chakan facility in Pune, dedicated to manufacturing these models.
This achievement comes off the back of all India 2.0 models achieving a five-star Global NCAP safety rating, The Taigun and Virtus also scored five stars in the Latin NCAP safety tests.
