Volkswagen India Marketing Strategy in India

by Mohammed Asrar

Introduction - Volkswagen (VW) is one of the world’s leading automobile manufacturers and the largest carmaker in Europe

Volkswagen in German language means people’s car

Founded - 28 May 1937 (75 years)

Founder(s) - Ferdinand Porsche

Headquarters - Wolfsburg, Germany

Slogan - Das Auto ("The Car")

Area served - 153 countries

Subsidiaries - Audi, Bugatti, Bentley, Lamborghini, Porsche, SEAT, Skoda, Volkswagen and Scania CV

About Volkswagen India - Volkswagen entered the Indian passenger car market in 2001 by launching its car brand - Skoda. In 2007, two of its other brands Audi and Volkswagen, were also launched in India.

Volkswagen Group India emphasized on all aspects of marketing mix including product, price, place and promotion.

The company offered three brands including Audi(10), Skoda(4) and Volkswagen(7) that together comprised of 21 different models as of May-2013.

Volkswagen Group India mainly catered to the luxury segment of the Indian car market.

The company had established presence in India through separate distribution channels for each of its brands.

Market study - 70% of passenger cars are small cars in India. The pricing needs to be within the competition. Need for changing its market strategy for India. Majority of Indians did not know anything about Volkswagen, not even the pronunciation.Brand awareness was 4% as compared to 70% which competition enjoyed.India is an important market for Automobile manufacturers.Indian automobile market is growing market.Easy Financing Options are available.

Expertise in Premium cars Priority to performance Skewed towards compact cars Priority to economy.

Challenges for VW in India -

VW India’s Marketing strategies - Worlds first talking newspaper Volkswagen took advertising to a new level with an innovative audio advertisement in newspaper. On Tuesday September 21, 2010 as readers opened the newspaper a lightsensitive chip attached to the page announced the arrival of “a perfectly engineered car” – the Vento.25 lakh readers of The Times of India and The Hindu were taken by surprise.It cost VW 5 crore rupees.

Social mediaVW India’s FB fan page has more than 1.5 million likes and Twitter page has more than 11,000 followers. Official YouTube channel for VW 57 million subscribers worldwide Broadcast numerous videos for promotion and brand awareness.

Philip Kotlers 5 Ps of marketing - Product 21 different models under 3 brands.Produced at Chakan Plant, near Pune.More assembly plans in India – competitive advantage.

PriceTargeted mainly for the luxury segment in the Indian market.Plan to capture bigger market by launching many new cars priced sub-10 lakh rupees .

PlaceSignificant presence – Currently, the company has around 200 dealerships and outlets across major cities. By 2015, it would double the number of dealerships. Well, increasing the proximity of the dealerships for the customers will be surely a successful move.

Philip Kotlers 5 Ps of marketing - PromotionLaunched Integrated Marketing campaign in November, 2009.Collaboration with DDB Mudra.Evoke consumer awareness of VW as a brand.Innovative promotional campaigns – OOH, print ads, TVCs.Print media – Communicating benefits.Television Commercials – Brand building.

PurposeBuilding brand image through innovative promotional campaigns.Earlier example – “think small” for Beetle in 50s.Core focus on luxury segments.Low cost VW Polo for targeting masses.Achieve significant awareness of VW as a brand before launch of Polo.Showcase German engineering coupled with “Made in India” promise.

Any questions?

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