Mumbai, April 9 The German auto major, Volkswagen Group, is aiming for a 5 per cent market share in the Indian passenger vehicles market before the turn of the decade, with alternative fuel technologies playing a key role in achieving this target, a senior company official said on Thursday.
The group, which in 2018 announced its India 2.0 strategy led by its brand Skoda, had set a target to achieve 5 per cent market share by 2025, but missed it due to events like the COVID-19 pandemic. Currently, the group has about 2.5 per cent share in India.
Skoda Auto Volkswagen India Pvt Ltd (SAVWIPL) manages the Indian operations of six Volkswagen Group four-wheeler brands – Skoda, Volkswagen, Audi, Porsche, Lamborghini, and the British super luxury brand, Bentley.
"In the last two or three years, as we have evaluated, our medium-term aspiration is definitely to reach 5 per cent market share. We are currently at about 2.5 per cent, and we will definitely need product interventions to reach 5 per cent, and that is what we are working on," said Piyush Arora, Managing Director & CEO of Skoda Auto Volkswagen India, in an interaction on the sidelines of the unveiling of the SUV, Volkswagen Taigun.
He was responding to a query on VW Group's new timeline for the targeted market share of 5 per cent in India, having missed it in 2025.
When asked for the new timeline to achieve the target, Arora said, "We need more product interventions, and these interventions will happen both in internal combustion engines (ICE) as well as with alternative fuels. Our timeline for this is before the turn of the decade, and we should have alternative fuel vehicles as well."
The new products will include EVs, he said, adding that the company is actively looking at CNG.
When asked about investment for the next phase of growth in India, Arora said that it will mostly be on products, but the group has not finalized a fixed number.
On the impact of the war in West Asia, Arora said that the group companies are working according to the restrictions on gas supplies, and so far there has been no impact on production.
Asked about the impact on sales growth, Arora said, "Before the West Asia conflict started, the industry was expected to grow in the mid-single digits, at around 6-7 per cent (for 2026). The first quarter has grown much faster than that."
He further said, "If the West Asia conflict would not have taken place, I would have said that maybe we were, or the industry was a little less optimistic, and we should be more optimistic. (Now) it is difficult at this point to say. If the conflict gets resolved sooner than later, we might see a little higher than the existing 6-7 per cent growth (for the industry)."
As for the group, he said that it is looking to grow faster than the industry in order to gain market share on the back of new products, including the new Taigun SUV.
Commenting on the new Taigun, Nitin Kohli, Brand Director for Volkswagen Passenger Cars India, said that the model has been a key pillar of the brand's India portfolio, having played a significant role in the growth of SUV sales, contributing to the brand's growth.
"The new Taigun builds on this strong foundation with a sharper design and meaningful enhancements across key pillars," he said, adding that the VW brand would continue its journey of "democratising" premium technology and features.
Kohli said that the market continues to see buoyancy since the GST 2.0 reforms kicked in last September, and the effect is also visible in the first quarter this year.
On VW brand's sales expectations, he said, "Our numbers have been stable around 40,000 units for the last year, and we continue to work on these numbers and grow with the new model intervention that we have."
Kohli said that the VW brand would have a "new product action" every quarter, adding that the deliveries of the new Taigun will start within this month.