Volkswagen unveils Phaeton @ Rs 75 lakh

German auto major Volkswagen unveiled on Wednesday its high-end luxury car Phaeton with sticker price of Rs 75 lakhs (Rs 7.5 million).

"With the launch of Phaeton in March this year Volkswagen would register entry into the high-end luxury segment," Volkswagen Group Sales India, member of the board of directors, Neeraj Garg said at the 10th Auto Expo in New Delhi.

Positioned as handcrafted luxury, the car is equipped with 3.6 litre petrol engine with an output of 280HP, he said.

Phaeton is built at Volkswagens Glass factory at Dresden in Germany where a customer can see his or her car being assembled from the stage of choosing chassis, he said.

Even Indian customer, he said, would have the option of visiting the facility in Germany and see the car being manufactured and customised.

Phaeton would be available in the select outlets among 40 showrooms of Volkswagen as the company is targeting high-end customers, he added.

Volkswagen with the four brands in the country sold 3,037 cars in 2009 compared to 1,566 cars in the previous year.

The company, currently, sells Passat, Jetta, Beetle and Touareg. On Tuesday, the largest European car maker introduced high-end small car Polo which would also reach showrooms in March.

With the entry into the compact car segment in March this year, the company is expecting to increase its market share to 8-10 per cent in the next 4-6 years, he said.

The 1.2 litre Polo coming in three versions would have 50 per cent localisation, he said, adding that the roll out would be through its Chakan facility in Pune.

The Polo would be available in both petrol and diesel variants. Polo, with an engine output of 75 HP, is sold in European market at price of around Euro9,500.

Volkswagen, that entered into the country in mid-2007, has invested Rs 3,800 crore (Rs 38 billion) in the Chakan facility which is the largest investment so far by any German manufacturer.

The manufacturing plant has capacity to produce 1,10,000 units per year and produces Skoda Fabia from the facility.

Skoda is the part of the same group. Currently, around 40 units per day of the Skoda Fabia are manufactured at the Chakan unit, he said, adding the full capacity is expected to reach by 2011.

Image: The Volkswagen Phaeton is on display at the Geneva car show in 2002. | Photograph: Jean-Bernard Sieber/Reuters