Volkswagen starts IT arm to support global brands from Pune

Mumbai: German automaker Volkswagen on Thursday said it has started an in-house arm in Pune to serve the information technology-related needs of all its global brands.

It has invested euro 3 million or Rs 22.5 in crore into Volkswagen IT Services India, the newly created company which has a team of 300 professionals at present which will be scaled up to 450 soon, a company statement said.

They will be collaborating with different IT organisations within the Volkswagen Group in Germany and work on future related projects and drive innovations, it said.

"We are offering our brands the opportunity to unlock the potential of their IT investments with the support of the IT talent pool we have put together in India. As the team here will eventually extend its services to cover all brands, India's significance will only be further amplified," Martin Hofmann, Volkswagen AG's Chief Information Officer, said.

Head of the management board of Volkswagen Group IT Services GmbH, Uwe Matulovic, said the company is focused on building the right team which is at par with German standards of quality and effectiveness at present.

The group, which is at present mired in the emissions scandal, boasts of a brand portfolio including marquee names like Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, Porsche and Skoda.

It can be noted that a slew of companies across sectors use India as a base to support their in-house IT requirements, employing thousands of Indian engineers.

At present, the team has an expertise in areas like AVA, Microsoft Technologies, Business Intelligence, SAP, ServiceNow, mobility and testing, it said.