When Volkswagen India entered the midsize SUV segment by launching the Taigun in September 2021, it planned to sell 5,000-6,000 units of this SUV every month.
A year and a month later, while the carmaker hasn’t been able to achieve that target—it has sold a little over 28,000 units, or about 2,200 units per month—the Taigun has given it a new set of buyers.
Ashish Gupta, brand director, Volkswagen Passenger Cars India, told FE that 20% of existing Volkswagen customers have bought the Taigun and this implies that 80% have been all-new Volkswagen buyers.
A reason Volkswagen wasn’t able to sell as many units as planned is the semiconductor shortage, which, Gupta said, continues to be a challenge. “We have delivered nearly 60% of our orders,” he said. “This is amidst the supply chain challenges in the industry.”
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But by selling 28,000-odd units, Volkswagen India has achieved 10% market share in the midsize SUV petrol segment, or about 5% of the overall midsize SUV space.
The carmaker is also exporting the Taigun to more than 19 countries, including Mexico, and markets in Southeast Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.
“The biggest impact the Taigun has made on the brand is behind the scenes,” Gupta said. “It has filled the brand with a new vigour, and helped expand our network to 155 sales touchpoints and 123 service touchpoints in 116 cities. In 2022 so far, we have serviced over 510,000 customers. We have also improved our parts availability through our regional distribution centres and today our parts service levels are at 96%.”
On the customer front, he added that the Taigun has created a niche for itself in the tough midsize SUV segment dominated by Hyundai Creta and Kia Seltos, and now by Toyota Urban Cruiser Hyryder and Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza.
The Taigun is marginally smaller in size than the competition (for example, 7.5 cm shorter than the Creta) and doesn’t have the dominating road presence of the Grand Vitara or the Seltos. It also doesn’t have a diesel engine option (like in the Creta and the Seltos) or a hybrid powertrain (like in the Grand Vitara and the Urban Cruiser Hyryder).
But where it stands out is ride and handling, and two turbocharged petrol engine choices—1.0-litre and 1.5-litre. We recently drove the 1.5-litre unit, and in terms of sheer driving pleasure—apologies for using someone else’s slogan—the Taigun is a class apart. Ride and handling is lovely; minimal tyre or engine noise enters the cabin, and even on sharp turns it doesn’t appear to lose its line.
Gupta added that, thanks to vehicles such as the Taigun, the brand Volkswagen is synonymous with the German engineering prowess, as well as safety. Last month, the Taigun (along with Skoda Kushaq) earned 5-star GNCAP safety rating for adult and child occupant protection. “It’s the safest car in India,” he said. “Customers appreciate that.”
The Taigun has also helped Volkswagen India increase its market share from 0.86% to 1.03%—in April-October Volkswagen India sold 13,824 of the total passenger vehicle sales of 1,614,067 units, and in April-October 2022, Volkswagen India sold 22,888 cars of the total PV sales of 2,227,853 units.
