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Volkswagen Taigun Crossover Headed For Production?
Volkswagen may well be Europe's largest and the world's third largest automaker, but it has not been able to make any significant headway in India due to the lack of a blockbuster model. The automaker is not sitting idle though, which is evident from the recent sightings of the Up. And now, news has appeared that an India specific Taigun compact SUV will enter production.
The news comes courtesy of Autoweek, which cites its sources inside VW. With the Taigun compact SUV VW will also enter the sub-4 meter fray, but not before 2016, according to reports. Here is what you need to know about the VW Taigun.
Debut
The Taigun crossover concept was revealed at the Sao Paulo Auto Show last year, which alone clarifies its positioning as a car for emerging markets.
Small displacement engines
VW will equip the Taigun with small displacement, fuel efficient engines such as a 1.0 liter turbocharged 3 cylinder petrol unit and a similar diesel unit. Another indication that the Taigun will only make it markets such as India and Brazil and not the USA.
CNG Version
Autoweek even says a CNG version of the crossover is being planned.
Transmission
Both manual and dual clutch automatic transmission options would be part of the lineup.
Platform
The Taigun shares a common platform with the Up! hatchback - the MQB platform. Hence, the dimension are similar as well. 3.85 meters long, 1.72 meters wide and 1.56 meters high.
Manufacturing
The most important bit, however, has to be this. VW will supposedly build the Taigun in two places - Sao Paulo, Brazil, which will cater to left-hand drive markets and Chakan, India, which will manufacture right-hand drive models. Kaluga, in Russia is also being considered and could come at a later point.
Launch timeframe
VW is said to have already entered production unit development stage, but an exact launch timeframe was not provided by VW. However, since, the company only plans to launch any new model in India after a couple of years the 2016 date fits the bill.
Competition
Clearly, VW Taigun will be in direct competition with the likes of Ford EcoSport in India and Fiat Panda Trekking in other markets.
Extensive localization
VW will definitely look to localize production to the highest extent possible, a path Ford has taken with the EcoSport, enabling it to position it aggressively in terms of pricing.
Other VW future models
Beside the Taigun, VW may also have plans of launching a crossover version of the Polo, which has been spotted testing on Indian roads.
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