Exclusive: Last VW T-Roc units up for grabs in India
The VW T-Roc has not been sold out in India, unlike what recent reports say. Volkswagen has confirmed to IndianAutosBlog.com that a handful of T-Roc units are still available to book in India. So, customers still looking to buy one are still in luck.
The VW T-Roc was launched in India on 19 March 2020, just days before the national lockdown was imposed. Dealers started receiving first units just last week.
Skoda Auto Volkswagen India Pvt Ltd (SAVWIPL), the parent company of Volkswagen in India, is taking advantage of the relaxed import norms that allow automakers to import up to 2,500 new vehicles without homologating them in India a year. You can know more about this policy in our special report here.
Of the 2,500 units for this, 1,000 were gone to VW T-Roc. In just over two months, over 80% of the 1,000 units have been booked. Now, for the second batch, Volkswagen might consider homologating and importing more units. The company seems to have successfully test-marketed the T-Roc with a highly positive result. So, it may even locally assemble the T-Roc in the future.
The VW T-Roc retails at an introductory price of INR 19.99 lakh (ex-showroom India). That’s double the average price of a typical premium B-SUV (longer than 4,000 mm) in India. Moreover, Indian customers generally prefer SUVs with conventional styling and a tough character, and not soft, car-like crossover design that models like the VW T-Roc, Renault Captur and Nissan Kicks have. However, there’s no denying, especially now, that a niche clientele always exists for almost every type of product.
SAVWIPL has several other models it needs to import under the 2,500 unit quota, including the Skoda Karoq and the VW Tiguan Allspace. So, it may not be able to import a second batch of the VW T-Roc this year without homologating it this year.
The VW T-Roc is actually priced quite attractively considering the fact that it is a CBU import and the features it packs. Built at the Setubal plant (Portugal), it is equipped with LED headlamps, 17-inch alloy wheels, LED tail lamps, panoramic sunroof, fully digital instrument cluster, 8-inch touchscreen infotainment system, six airbags, front and rear parking sensors, reverse parking camera and TPMS as standard in our market.
Under the hood, the VW T-Roc sold in India has the 1.5-litre TSI EVO engine with ACT. The turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine produces 150 PS and 250 Nm of torque. ACT (Active Cylinder Technology) is a cylinder management system that shuts off two of the four cylinders of this engine when not required, for reduced fuel consumption and emissions. A 7-speed DSG dual-clutch automatic transmission was standard.
Also Read: VW T-Roc Cabriolet launched in Germany, priced from INR 23 lakh
Stay tuned to IndianAutosBlog.com for more Volkswagen updates and other four-wheeler news.
[Source: autocarindia.com]