Volkswagen unveils compact sedan Ameo

New Delhi: German auto major Volkswagen Tuesday unveiled here its compact sedan 'Ameo', which will be launched later this year in the country.

Besides Ameo, the company also plans to launch three new models including premier SUV Tiguan and Passat hybrid during the next financial year.

"We will launch Ameo in the second half of this year. It is a car specially designed for the Indian market. It will mark our entry into the growing volume segment in India," Volkswagen Passenger Cars India Director Michael Mayer told reporters here.

The compact sedan segment continues to garner much interest among Indian consumers and the company is happy to mark its presence in this competitive segment, he added.

The company has so far invested 800 million euros in India.

The sub-4 metre sedan will be available with both petrol and diesel engines. The 1.2 litre petrol engine will be mated to 5 speed gear box while the 1.5 litre diesel engine will be available in 5 speed manual and 7 speed automatic transmissions.

Volkswagen Ameo has been designed specifically for the Indian market. It will be manufactured at VWs Chakan facility in Maharashtra.

It will compete with the likes of Maruti Swift Dzire, Hyundai Xcent, Honda Amaze, Tata Zest and Ford Figo Aspire.

These sub-4 metre compact sedans are priced in the range of over Rs 5 lakh to around Rs 8.3 lakh.

The company has positioned VW Ameo as made-in-India and made-for-India carline.

Elaborating on the product pipeline for the next fiscal, Volkswagen Board Member for sales and marketing Jurgen Stackmann said: "During the next fiscal, we will be launching four new models bringing our greatest model range ever to the Indian showrooms."

Besides, Ameo, Tiguan, Passat Hybrid, the company would also launch Polo GTI during the period.

Volkswagen currently sells Polo, Vento, Jetta and Beetle in India.