Volkswagen Sees India's FTA as a Chance to Bring More Global Models Following Golf GTI, Tayron and Tiguan

Volkswagen plans to use the upcoming India-EU Free Trade Agreement as a lever to widen its India line-up with more global nameplates, building on a recent run of niche models the brand has already reintroduced to the market. Thomas Schäfer, Member of the Group Board of Management, CEO Volkswagen Passenger Cars Brand, spoke in detail about this in an interview with ACKO Drive.

Asked how Volkswagen plans to balance its strong reliance on localisation with growing customer appetite for global models, Schäfer pointed directly to trade policy as an enabler. "FTA, as I said in the beginning, it will create an opportunity to broaden the portfolio, bring in some niche, exciting models to shape the brand," he said. "Customers come to a showroom and sees, you know, quite a range of vehicles — that's exciting, that shapes a brand."

He acknowledged that Volkswagen's global range is large enough that plenty of models simply haven't made commercial or logistical sense for India until now. "We [are] such a sort of global brand with so much in our portfolio that we haven't offer[ed]... for India," he said. "I think there's an opportunity there."

This builds on a trend already visible in the market. Schäfer specifically referenced the return of the Golf R, the arrival of the Golf GTI, and the Tiguan to India as recent examples of Volkswagen bringing global nameplates back into the country's showrooms — cars noticed by enthusiasts precisely because they connect India's market to Volkswagen's wider global identity.

Schäfer also addressed the export side of the equation, noting that Volkswagen's India operations already ship "700,000 cars" to "over 40 markets," including relationships with other automotive-manufacturing nations such as Mexico — evidence, he said, that trade flows can work in both directions to the benefit of "both markets."

The FTA-driven strategy comes as Volkswagen works through several other major India decisions in parallel — a new sub-4-metre compact SUV, ongoing talks around a local partner, and an evolving position on CNG, ethanol, diesel and EVs. Schäfer's comments suggest the FTA is being viewed less as a standalone initiative and more as one more tool the brand can use to make its India range feel closer to its full global portfolio, rather than a stripped-down, localisation-only line-up.