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Targeting the midsize sedan category, German auto giant Volkswagen (VW) on Tuesday unveiled its new locally manufactured sedan Volkswagen Vento in India. It is expected to hit the Indian roads by October this year.

“ The mid-size market is doing very well in India and we are focusing on this segment.

With this new launch, we expect that our Indian sales will double by next year.

We are targeting about 8-10 per cent of the market share in the mid-segment,” Christian Klingler, board member (sales and marketing), Volkswagen group, told reporters in New Delhi.

“ Even our earlier launch, Polo, is doing quite well and the demand is outstripping the supply. We already have an order backlog of 10,000 cars,” Klingler said.

Klingler said Vento will be the company’s first car that has been designed and manufactured in India, keeping in perspective Indian roads and conditions. For example, the car will have improved overall interior room, more powerful air conditioning systems, louder horn and suspension settings to suit Indian conditions. However, the company refused to divulge details about the price of the car. It said the price will be revealed only closer to the market launch of the car.

“ It will be Volkswagen’s second volume model after Polo and will be coming as a premium entry-level sedan in the country.

It will certainly change the game in the sedan segment as we will be keeping our price quite competitive,” Neeraj Garg, member of the board and director (passenger cars), Volkswagen India, had said earlier. However, an official hinted that the price would be around Rs 9 lakh. Polo is priced in the range of Rs 4.34 lakh to Rs 6.70 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi).

The new Vento comes with a 1.6 litre engine in the petrol and diesel variants. It will be available in both manual and automatic transmission options. The new Vento is the seventh model in India from Volkswagen’s stable. Currently, the company offers compact cars Beetle and Polo, premium sedans Phaeton, Passat and Jetta, and sports utility vehicle Touareg.

At present, the mid-size sedan segment in India comprises models like Hyundai Accent, Verna, Mahindra Logan, Ford Fusion and Honda City. Vento will be positioned above the Polo and below the Jetta. The car is being rolled out from the company’s plant at Chakan, in Maharashtra.

Volkswagen has already invested 580 million euros for its Chakan plant, with an annual production capacity of 1.1 lakh units. The facility also manufactures the Fabia hatchback of group firm SkodaAuto.