Volkswagen India’s Chakan plant completed half a decade of operations on March 31, 2014. The 575 acre plant started operations in 2007, with an initial investment of Rs 3,800 crore. It was built in 17 months, a record time across all VW manufacturing facilities worldwide.
VW commenced productions at this plant began in May 2009 with cars like Fabia, followed by the Polo, Vento and Rapid. The plant, since then, has rolled out close to 3.5 lakh units and is VW’s Indian headquarter. The plant currently employs 3,400 people and also caters to export markets.
Mahesh Kodumudi, Chief Representative, Volkswagen Group India and President and Managing Director, Volkswagen India Private Limited, says, “The Volkswagen Pune Plant is one of the most modern car production facilities in India. With the inauguration of the Pune Plant, Volkswagen not only brought 'German Engineering made by Volkswagen in India' to the Indian Subcontinent, but also kicked off the production of car models for the volume segments in India. And we are not only producing cars with highest quality for the domestic market in India; we are also currently exporting our Volkswagen Polo and Vento models to more than 30 countries across three continents. This is clear proof of the high standards we have achieved at our Pune Plant over the past five years.”
This is a big milestone in VW’s Indian operations, the plant will soon produce the Tiguan crossover which is supposed to be made in India and Brazil. The company will also launch the Polo and Vento facelifts later this year. So there is much more to look forward to from VW this year.