VW Group looks to roll out local entry level e-car

Volkswagen Group is considering introducing an entry-level electric car in India, which, if realized, would make it the first European automaker to tap into India's mass-market electric vehicle segment. The vehicle, which will likely belong to the lowest or AO category, will be manufactured in Spain starting in 2025.

- Alisha Sachdev

The EV may be launched in several markets under the Skoda, Cupra and Volkswagen brands as part of Volkswagen's Accelerate strategy to become the top brand in sustainable mobility. It's unclear if the entry-level car will be made in India as well.

"Our ambition is definitely to get into the entry segment of EVs in Europe, India and rest of the world," Piyush Aggarwal, managing director and chief executive of Skoda Auto Volkswagen India, said in an interview. "The VW group is looking at an AO segment EV for the European market. So we are definitely looking at the possibility of whether that product would be the right one for the Indian market," he said.

"As part of that, we are evaluating the possibilities of a product that will then fit into the Indian requirements of an entrylevel EV. An entry-level EV that can be in the range of around less than €20,000 is what is being targeted in Europe, and we'll have to correspondingly see to what level can we bring that to India," Aggarwal said.