Nobody would liken volkswagen to the hare, but as thierry lespiaucq, head of vw group sales in india, tells tg’s amaan ahmed and girish karkera, being the tortoise in a market like ours is the wise thing to do.
What does Lespiaucq love most about India? “Back home in France, one needs specific channels, but here, you just switch on the TV and watch MotoGP”
“A Volkswagen will never be a cheap car”
VW doesn’t play the numbers game. We know it. It sells a few thousand Polos and Ventos, but it’s really not doing great in terms of domestic sales. Progress, to put it frankly, has been glacial.
That doesn’t faze Thierry Lespiaucq.
Speak to the head of VW Group sales in India, and you’ll first notice how measured he is with his replies. Crisply dressed, mostly guarded in his responses, Lespiaucq plays with a straight bat. He doesn’t evade questions on the past, doesn’t dodge any on the present and is pretty clear about what he expects from his brand in the future. He admits VW’s delayed arrival hampered its prospects, and adds how fluctuation in currency values also had a deterring role.
“First of all, we came in late. VW was primarily not prepared and didn’t have the products fitting the demands of a market like India. We came into India with the Polo and Vento, and we also brought in the Passat, Beetle and Touareg. Also, development was slowed down, very frankly, by credit and currency fluctuations. What was possible at the very early stage, after the changes, became really tricky. The profitability of some products was at stake and then decisions were made to phase out some models.”
But he knows exactly what’s holding VW back.
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة October 2016 من BBC TopGear India.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 8500 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة October 2016 من BBC TopGear India.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 8500 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
THE FOUR FACES OF MUMBAI
How the Tata Nexon Matches Your City Vibe
KANYAKUMARI TO KASHMIR
Everyone is out to find an alternative to petrol or diesel. Could this be yours?
FROM CITY STREETS TO SNOW-CAPPED PEAKS
The summer sun beat down mercilessly, a stark contrast to the yearning for cool mountain air.
2024 MARUTI SUZUKI SWIFT - Still Swifty without a cylinder
Most of us know or are accustomed to Swift.
2024 FORCE GURKHA - Terrain Tamer
The Gurkha's story began in 1987 with the introduction of India's first indigenous utility vehicle.
DUBAI - Revving Up the Luxe
A Tesla picks you up from the airport - that's Dubai for you. TopGear India embarked on a quest to uncover the finest cars and indulge in extraordinary experiences during our recent visit to Dubai.
LAUNCH CONTROL
Tesla has finally unlocked the Cybertruck's off-road potential. We grab a rival and head to the desert for a baptism of fire...
QUESTION OF SPORT
The standard Ioniq 5 N sweeps the hot hatch title, and now there's an even racier version. Can it convince us electric motorsport isn't a total waste of time?
ASSAULT & BATTERY
The Taycan has always been quick, but Porsche just took things to a whole other level...
BRITS ABROAD
Is the MG Cyberster a return to form for the Great British Roadster? Bizzarely, we had to travel to China to find out...