Volkswagen to launch 2 new SUVs in India this year

The Volkswagen Group is currently working on the India 2.0 project that will see a lot of new launches in the Indian market in the coming years. With the rising popularity of the SUVs, the Volkswagen brand will launch two new SUVs in the market in the coming months. While one of the SUVs will take on the likes of Hyundai Creta and Tata Harrier, the other one will be the seven-seater version of the Volkswagen Tiguan.

Volkswagen T-Roc

The Volkswagen T-Roc is already on sale in the international markets. It gets the latest MQB A0 platform that also underpins a lot of other Volkswagen products in the developed markets. In India, the vehicle will be based on the Indianised version of the MQB A0 platform that is known as the MQB-A0-IN. The new platform is specifically being developed for the Indian market that will ensure that the cost of the vehicles remains under control in the price-sensitive Indian market. The use of a different platform for the Indian market will allow Volkswagen to customise the vehicle as per the Indian needs.

The Indian version of the T-Roc will be longer, taller and will offer more ground clearance. The cabin will be much bigger than its European counterparts. Also, the suspension will be tweaked to offer a more comfortable ride rather than a driver-centric set-up. Apart from such changes, Volkswagen will keep the cost down by using conventional methods to build the vehicle instead of using hot-stamped steel and vulcanised rubber bushing in the anti-roll bar. The India-spec T-Cross is expected to be powered by two petrol engines – 1.5-litre Turbocharged petrol and 1.0-litre three-cylinder engine. Volkswagen may also offer a CNG version of the T-Roc in the Indian market.

Volkswagen Tiguan AllSpace

Volkswagen will also introduce the long-wheelbase variant of the Tiguan in the Indian market. Globally, Volkswagen launched either the regular wheelbase or the long wheelbase variant of the Tiguan depending on the markets. In the markets where both the versions of the Tiguan are available, the LWB version gets the AllSpace suffix. In the Indian market, Volkswagen may follow the same strategy according to CNB and launch the LWB version of the Tiguan that gets an extra row of seat.

It should be noted that the Indian market gets Skoda Kodiaq, which is based on the same platform as the Tiguan but gets a longer wheelbase and three-row seating. The Tiguan AllSpace will be similar to the Kodiaq. With the launch of the new car, Volkswagen may reposition the regular Tiguan to make it more affordable in the market. Volkswagen currently uses a 2.0-litre diesel engine to power the Tiguan in the Indian market. It produces a maximum of 148 Bhp and a peak torque of 340 Nm. The 4WD SUV gets a seven-speed DSG transmission. The same set-up can be expected in the upcoming Tiguan AllSpace.