New Delhi, Mar 8 (PTI) German auto major Volkswagen on Tuesday unveiled new mid-sized sedan ‘Virtus’ which it plans to launch in the country later this year.
The company has commenced pre-bookings for the new model which competes with the likes of Honda City, Hyundai Verna, Maruti Suzuki Ciaz and the recently introduced Skoda Slavia.
Volkswagen said it is eyeing a market share of 12-15 per cent in the mid-sized sedan segment with the launch of the model in May this year.
“In the premium mid-sized sedan segment, we are looking at around 12-15 per cent of the segment share…when a new product comes, the segment grows, so we think this segment would grow up to 1.5 lakh cars by the end of this year,” Volkswagen Passenger Cars India Brand Director Ashish Gupta told PTI.
Elaborating on the reasons for launching a sedan, he said the bodystyle was still popular in the country with it accounting for 12-14 per cent of the total passenger vehicle sales.
“So there are around 4 lakh units being sold each year. The mid-sized sedan segment has grown by 28 per cent last year. So definitely there is interest in the market for such vehicles,” Sharma said.
He noted that the company has expanded its sales network to over 150 outlets enabling it to cater to the needs of customers across the country.
Elaborating on the new model, Sharma said: “The Virtus carries the global sedan lineage of the Volkswagen brand, selling over 129 models across our 61 years of presence in the sedan segment world over. A truly global carline that will redefine, re-energise and set new benchmarks in the premium mid-sized sedan segment in India.” The Virtus, with its dynamic and emotional design language, spacious interiors, functionality and TSI technology, will win the hearts of customers, he added.
The sedan is the second product under the group’s India 2.0 project that is developed on the MQB A0 IN platform with up to 95 per cent localisation levels.
“The Virtus offers nothing but brilliance in the premium mid-sized sedan segment. Being the longest car in the segment, spaciousness is no longer a compromise for our customers,” Sharma stated.
The VW group plans to export the new model to over 25 markets across the globe in addition to the domestic market.
The Virtus comes with 1 litre and 1.5 litre TSI petrol powertrains, mated with both manual and automatic transmissions.
The one litre petrol trims would deliver 115 PS of power while the 1.5 litre variants would generate 150 PS of power.
The model also has various other features like electric sunroof, wireless mobile charging, front ventilated leather seats and up to six airbags. PTI MSS MSS ANU ANU
