A week after the face-lifted Polo hatchback was launched in India, Volkswagen’s Pune plant has achieved a new milestone. The manufacturing facility has rolled out over 400,000 cars in a span of over five years. The 400,000^th car was a Polo Highline for the domestic market equipped with the brand-new 1.5-litre TDI engine.

Since the start of production at Volkswagen Pune Plant in March 2009, more than 400,000 cars have been produced for the domestic as well as over 32 export markets across three continents. The cars currently being produced at the facility include the Polo and Vento (in both left- and right-hand-drive version) and the Skoda Rapid. The plant has a manufacturing capacity of 130,000 cars per year (in the current two-shift system).

Commenting on the landmark rollout, Andreas Lauenroth, executive director – technical, commented, “The rollout of the 400,000^th car is a testimony of Volkswagen running its India productions in a higher gear without compromising our highest quality standards. With this achievement under our belt, we plan to keep moving forward with a greater thrust to position ourselves as a committed car manufacturer in the Indian market.”

All the models produced at Volkswagen Pune Plant boast robust build quality contributed by unique production processes such as laser welding for roof, ultrasonic welding for trim as well as dash and hot-stamped A- and B-pillars.

Mahesh Kodumudi, president and managing director, Volkswagen India, said, “With over 400,000 cars produced at our state-of-the-art manufacturing facility for the domestic as well as export market, we have firmly established our operations. We will continue to focus on productivity and further localisation to cater to the demand from our markets.”