Volkswagen Confirms It Is Exploring a Local Partner for India — but Says Plans Don't Depend on It

For months, speculation has swirled around Volkswagen potentially seeking a stake sale or local partner in India. Thomas Schäfer, Member of the Group Board of Management, CEO Volkswagen Passenger Cars Brand, put that speculation to rest with a direct on-record confirmation in an interview with ACKO Drive that the company is actively looking at the option.

"Exploring options like having a local partner to grow significantly is a legitimate option and we are exploring it at the moment and see what comes out of it," Schäfer said. "There's a lot of interest in it."

He framed the move not as a sign of weakness or retreat, but as a standard piece of business logic that Volkswagen has used successfully elsewhere. "We have made tremendous success over the years in China with joint ventures and nothing wrong with it," he said, drawing a direct parallel between a potential Indian tie-up and VW's long-running joint-venture model in China.

Asked to explain the underlying rationale, Schäfer described it simply as a trade-off between shared cost and shared reward. "It's a general business equation," he said. "On the one side you share expenses but you also share the profits. So you have to weigh it off and see whether it makes sense or not." He added that "discussions are progressing well and we'll see what comes out of it," without naming any specific candidate or timeline.

Crucially, Schäfer was explicit that Volkswagen's India ambitions are not contingent on landing a partner. Pressed on whether the brand's plans hinge on a deal, he said: "No, India is for us important whether we do it alone or with somebody." In other words, a partnership would accelerate or expand what VW can do in India, but its absence would not derail the brand's existing roadmap.

Schäfer's comments came during a trip to India that included Volkswagen's entire global board, underlining how seriously the company is treating the market. He described his own reaction to India's current infrastructure and automotive development as one of genuine surprise: "Arriving at the new airport in Mumbai driving fantastic roads into town here in Mumbai this is like unbelievable," he said, adding that "the development... in terms of automotive market development is a lot more than than I had thought."

The confirmation arrives alongside other significant India announcements from Schäfer during the same conversation, including a sub-4-metre SUV and an evolving multi-fuel strategy involving CNG and ethanol. Taken together, they suggest Volkswagen is treating India not as an afterthought but as a market central to its next phase of global growth — one it's willing to reshape its ownership structure for, if the right arrangement comes along.