Volkswagen To Set Up Small Pop-Up Showrooms Across India In Small Cities & Towns

Volkswagen India will soon be setting up multiple compact showrooms across India. This move is part of Volkswagen's new strategy to increase its reach in smaller cities and towns across the country.

Volkswagen To Set Up Small Pop-Up Showrooms Across India In Small Cities & Towns

Volkswagen would set up showrooms in with a floor area as small as 2,000-3,000 sq.ft in different parts of India to achieve this plan. The Volkswagen Group is one of the largest automotive brands in the world.

Under the VW Group umbrella are brands like Audi, Lamborghini, Bentley, Seat, Skoda, Ducati, Bugatti, MAN, Scania, etc. These brands together are bringing in lots of profits for the VW Group across several markets in the world. The Indian market though is different.

Volkswagen To Set Up Small Pop-Up Showrooms Across India In Small Cities & Towns

Volkswagen India has been doing decently in terms of sales and profits. However, VW wants to grow, which is why the company has now come up with a new strategy. The Strategy is called ‘India 2.0' and brings to the table new products, new ideas and apparently a whole new Volkswagen India.

To showcase what the new plan is for the Indian market, Volkswagen will be taking part in the 2020 Indian Auto Expo. This is a big deal because it shows that Volskwagen has something substantial to give to the Indian market. The company had skipped the 2018 Indian Auto Expo. Hence, all eyes are on VW India.

Volkswagen To Set Up Small Pop-Up Showrooms Across India In Small Cities & Towns

Volkswagen will also be revamping its retail method as it plans to reach a wider audience. According to MoneyControl, Volskwagen's dealer partners will open dozens of small stores called ‘pop-up stores' that would be one-tenth the size of a regular VW showroom we see today.

The size of the pop-up stores will be roughly between 2,000-3,000 sq.ft in area as compared to the 25,000-30,000 sq.ft of a regular showroom. VW is planning to focus on setting up lots of these small stores while reducing the dealer count. This will allow VW to increase its touch points across the country.

Volkswagen To Set Up Small Pop-Up Showrooms Across India In Small Cities & Towns

These smaller showrooms will be focused on Tier 2, 3 and 4 cities. Smaller cities and towns have quick access to villages around them and hence more people can access Volkswagen's services. These showrooms will display only two cars instead of more than eight and will rely more on digital showcasing of VW India's product line-up.

Stefen Knapp, Director (Passenger Cars), Volkswagen India, told Moneycontrol , "We started with 80 dealers, now we have 63 and we will take it to 50 eventually. We launched one pop-up store in Bengaluru and will open 30 such stores this year."

Volkswagen To Set Up Small Pop-Up Showrooms Across India In Small Cities & Towns

"The key focus for these stores is to have them in Tier II, III and even Tier IV cities. Volkswagen India is the first one to do so anywhere in the world. The real estate market is so expensive and you need to find such solutions."

Through this strategy, Volkswagen India's dealer partners can reach a greater audience without investing a lot of money. It isn't clear at the moment as to how Volkswagen intends to handle the after sales service requirements of such a network.

Volkswagen To Set Up Small Pop-Up Showrooms Across India In Small Cities & Towns

Thoughts On Volkswagen Setting Up Dozens Of Small Pop-Up Showrooms In Small Cities & Towns

Volkswagen India makes some of the best cars in the country. Its cars are well-built and lovely to drive. Now though, VW India seems to want to reach the masses and the best way to do it is bring up these smaller pop-up stores. The wealthier people of the smaller towns and cities will surely appreciate VW's outreach and this might just increase Volkswagen's sales.

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Read more on: #volkswagen
Article Published On: Wednesday, August 14, 2019, 18:59 [IST]
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