Indian Autos blog

Volkswagen India has spoken to the media yet again, expressing interest in launching the Up! city car that stations under the Polo in the German auto major’s international lineup.

Speaking to Live Mint newspaper, Dr John Chacko, VW Group’s chief representative in India, said a decision on the launch of the Up! is likely to be taken later this year.

Volkswagen’s smallest car ever has definitely won the hearts of all people across the globe. But now it has finally made it large.

The VW UP! has nabbed the World Car of the Year at the ongoing New York Expo. It managed to beat 34 models for the title which included the likes of the new BMW 3 Series and Porsche 911.

The World Car of the Year is voted by 64 journalist from 25 countries. The diverse jury makes sure that the award is not biased depending on a particular market.

The jury was bowled over by the responsive steering, sophisticated suspension set-up, efficient engines and the quality of materials and finish of the VW UP!

The other winners include:

• World Car Design of the Year – Range Rover Evoque
• World Performance Car of the Year – Porsche 911
• World Green Car of the Year – Mercedes-Benz 250 CDI Blueefficiency

The VW UP now joins the list of winners which include the likes of Nissan Leaf (2011), Volkswagen Polo (2010), Volkswagen Golf (2009) and Mazda 2 (2008).

Too sad that VW has put the launch of the UP! on back burner.

The great mystery of whether the VW Up! is going to be launched in India has enchanted us all. A few sighting of the car just before the Auto Expo in India sparked a flurry of rumors that VW is all set to launch the UP in India. However, at the Auto Expo, the UP! was nowhere to be seen. It was then learnt that the Up! spied on the flatbed may not be Volkswagen’s property.

The German automaker has finally broken its mum providing some official information. Volkswagen Group Chief Representative India John Chacko told PTI that the company is analyzing the feasibility of launching the UP! in India and a final decision will be taken by the year end.

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Although there is no official confirmation, Volkswagen Up! is being seriously considered by VW India for the Indian consumers. Its small dimensions coupled with super efficient engineS make it nearly a perfect entry-level car for India.

However, the VW Up! is only available with a petrol motor which may work against its favor as Indian auto market is dominated by diesel cars.

However, VW has confirmed that the Up! will get a diesel engine very soon. This is not the normal TDI that we find in the Polo and Fabia.

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The Volkswagen Up! may have disappointed fans of German engineering by giving the Auto Expo a miss, but here’s medicine to help them move on – sketches of the five-door version of the Up! have been leaked. It’s not a top secret file as VW showcased a concept five-door at the Frankfurt Motor Show with flared wheel arches and fitments.

The three-door Up! is penetrating Europe and UK in a handful of variants such as Take Up!, Move Up!, High Up!, etc. These markets get a 1L petrol engine in two outputs paired to a five-speed manual transmission.

The production model does not have contrasting differences and the minor changes to the bumpers and tail lights featuring a more practical design were expected to turn up during the transition from concept to production. These changes keep costs in check, mighty important considering this is Volkswagen’s cheapest offering.

The Up! in the five-door form bows in at Frankfurt this year (or earlier) and thereafter heads straight for the Indian market. The model allows further capacity utilization at the VW Group’s production facility in Chakan, Pune. The Polo’s 1.2-liter diesel engine is hugely important if the current customer behaviour prevails.

So where is the price going to start? We think this is the ideal vehicle to challenge Maruti in its own game. If Volkswagen can price it similarly to the Beat, they have another Polo in their hands.

VW commercial always tickle your funny bone whether they are made in India or abroad. The company is known to push the boundaries of creativity (and sometimes beyond) with their advertisements. In this new VW Up! commercial the company is mocking all things that are BIG.

The Up!, though taller than the Polo, is the smallest car in the VW portfolio. Clearly, the advert goes to great length to explain how small is the new big. Have a look.

NDTV’s Car And Bike Show fan Sandeep Singh posted these two images of the Volkswagen Up! mounted on a flatbed truck in Delhi on the show’s official Facebook page.

The Up! will be the cheapest Volkswagen in India with prices expected to start at 3.5 lakh rupees. Before Volkswagen brings this Up! to India, it needs to lend it rear doors (model which VW has already featured in TV commercials), beige interiors and a diesel engine. The Up! was unveiled at the Frankfurt Motor Show with a 1-liter petrol engine capable of producing a range of outputs up to 75PS and deliver a pump-beating 23kmpl.

What is this VW Up! doing in India? We have to wait to find out!

Could Volkswagen show the Up! at the Delhi Auto Expo?

A few weeks back, Volkswagen launched a boquet of images into the internet of the three-door Up with preliminary details. Following this development, we asked Shoeb to provide us a rendering of the five door model.

At the ongoing Frankfurt Motor Show VW displayed five more concept car variations of the production-ready Up small car. The fifth and final concept is very interesting as it is the only one with five doors. Volkswagen will not sell cars with three doors in India as rear seat is of paramount importance in any segment due to our back seat travel habits.

The Cross Up! is a concept car but it shows us how five-door car will look like. The Cross variants have rugged bumpers, padded wheel arches and added under-body protection. If you remove them and the Cross Up signatures, adorn it with slimmer tires, you have the regular hatchback that we expect in India next year.