Road ready

New Delhi, Nov. 29: Volkswagen intends to roll out a small car for India by 2009, which will compete with the Swift, Getz and Indica. However, its proposed unit near Pune will initially make the mid-size Passat cars for the local market.

The German firm today signed an agreement with the Maharashtra government to invest 410 million euros to produce 110,000 vehicles a year from 2009.

The Passat, which will compete with Toyota’s Camry, is likely to have a price tag of under Rs 30 lakh, officials said.

Volkswagen will build a facility with a press shop, body shop, paint shop and assembly lines on the 230-acre site in the Chakan industrial park near Pune. It will employ about 2,500 workers.

Till the unit is built, the company will use the Indian facility of Skoda Auto AS. Skoda has a factory in Aurangabad, which manufactures the Octavia sedans.

“This is how we can promptly bring locally produced vehicles to the Indian market. We will initially produce the Passat which will allow us to offer a strong model at an attractive price,” said Hans Dieter Potsch, a member of the board of management, Volkswagen AG.

The company plans to develop an India-specific car in the future at an attractive price, while it will import the Touareg and the Phaeton.

Beginning next year, the group will also set up an independent sales company for the Audi and other Volkswagen brands. The company — Volkswagen Group Sales India Limited — will sell locally produced models and imported vehicles.

Detlef Wittig, chairman of the board of management, Skoda Auto, said exclusive dealer networks for both Volkswagen and Audi will be set up in India, while Skoda’s dealer network will be beefed up.