Volkswagen India manufactures record number of cars in 2014

From the time it started producing cars, the Chakan plant of Volkswagen India manufactured the highest number of cars ever in a calendar year.

Exports made Volkswagen India produce the maximum number of cars in a calendar year in 2014. The German car manufacturer manufactured 1,11,444 cars in 2014 from January to December. This figure is 11.4% more than what it made in 2013. Volkswagen is giving this credit to the 32 export markets to which Volkswagen India caters to.

Commenting on the record number of cars manufactured, Mr. Mahesh Kodumudi, President and Managing Director, Volkswagen India Private Limited said, “The 111,444 cars produced at our Volkswagen Pune Plant this year strongly underline the potential of our production facility. The growth was mainly driven by the export volumes that are being produced at our facility, especially for Mexico. Nearly every second car produced from our plant in 2014 was exported to Mexico. The export activities have helped our plant in tackling the volatilities of the domestic market as well as the currency fluctuations. Exports have helped us in creating a strong second leg of our operations in India. However, our main focus still continues to be on the Indian market which has a great potential to grow in the coming years.”

These 1,11,444 cars produced at the Chakan plant include the Volkswagen Polo, Volkswagen Vento and Skoda Rapid. Vento was the highest produced car of the year with 67,010 units, this was followed by Polo with 33,547 units and 10,887 units of Rapid. Exports saw an increase of 308% as compared to 2013 and contributed almost 60% (66,660 units) of the total production. The other highlights for the manufacturing facility were the beginning of production of the new Polo and the updated versions of Vento and Rapid this year.

Adding more to what Mr. Kodumudi said, Mr. Andreas Lauenroth, Executive Director – Technical, Volkswagen India Private Limited commented, “We have successfully achieved the highest production number at our plant this year without compromising on quality. The high acceptance of our cars to matured export markets such as Mexico underlines the international standards of manufacturing at our Indian production facility. We managed to shift seamlessly from previous versions of Polo, Vento and Rapid to their updated versions with smooth ramp-ups. This is a clear testimony of the high capabilities of our workforce.”