Volkswagen recently revealed a new SUV, the Volkswagen Taigun, in the Indian market. The brand has been planning on launching four SUVs under Volkswagen Group’s SUVW strategy in India. The SUVW strategy includes Taigun, T-ROC, Tiguan and Tiguan AllSpace. But apart from the new SUVs, Volkswagen is also planning to introduce a new sedan for India.
Reports suggest that Volkswagen will be launching a new sedan in the Indian market which will slot above the Volkswagen Vento. Volkswagen had planned to introduce the Virtus sedan in the Indian market at the 2022 Auto Expo in Delhi. But reportedly, the biennial event has been postponed to a further date due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Sources report that Volkswagen will start producing the Virtus sedan around February or March and unveil the car by the end of April 2022.
Underpinning the Virtus sedan will be the new Indianised version of the MQB platform, MQB-A0-IN. The new platform underpins the Volkswagen Group Taigun as well as the Skoda Kushaq. According to Volkswagen, Taigun has achieved around 95% of localisation. Similarly, the Virtus will also be highly localised to help the brand price it aggressively. Also, the Virtus in the international market comes with 4,482mm of length, 1,751mm of width, 1,472mm in height, and 2,651mm of wheelbase. This makes the Virtus 98mm longer than the Vento.
Powering the Volkswagen Virtus will be Volkswagen Group’s TSI engine family. The brand is likely to offer the 1.0-litre three-cylinder turbo petrol engine and 1.5-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol engine as options. The former produces 110 Hp of power, and the latter makes 150 Hp of power. The brand is also likely to offer a 6-speed manual and 6-speed torque converter automatic on the 1.0-litre TSI engine option, while the 1.5-litre TSI engine will come with a 6-speed manual and a 7-speed DSG automatic gearbox.
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