Volkswagen India to increase dealership by 2011

New Delhi, Aug 21: Volkswagen Group, Europe's largest automobile manufacturer is planning to increase its dealership in the country to further strengthen its Indian operations.

''Our Indian operations play a significant role in our overall strategy. To further strengthen the growth in India we will increase our Volkswagen and Audi dealerships across the country from 14 at present to approximately 150 by 2011,'' Volkswagen Group India, President and Managing Director, Joerg Mueller said in a statement. In 2007, Volkswagen had first introduced to the Indian market, its indigenously built Volkswagen Passat to cater to the premium automobile segment.

This was followed by the recent successful launch of the Volkswagen Jetta, Volkswagen's mid-sized premium car in India. Volkswagen dealerships are based in New Delhi, Gurgaon, Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chandigarh and Ludhiana.

Audi entered the Indian market in 2005.

The Audi model range in India includes the Audi A8, Audi Q7, Audi A6, Audi A4 and Audi TT and is available at present in seven dealerships across the country: New Delhi, Gurgaon, Chandigarh, Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Pune.

Audi will introduce the super sports car Audi R8 to the Indian market in autumn 2008 along with its iconic model Beetle which is slated to make its debut in 2009 in the country.

UNI