A blue-silk coloured Ameo, the first sub 4-m sedan designed and developed in India for the Indian market was rolled off the assembly line at Volkswagen India’s Chakan plant today.

The car marks the German automaker’s entry into the compact sedan segment in the country. While the company has opened pre-bookings, the commercial launch of the Ameo is scheduled for the middle of the year, Andreas Lauermann, President and Managing Director, VW India, said.

To be available in both petrol (1.2 litre) and diesel (1.5 litre) engine options, the new car is highly localised though the petrol engine and gearbox will be imported.

VW has invested Rs 720 crore to design, develop and manufacture the car. To prepare for the production of the Ameo, VW has recently introduced a third shift at Chakan where it currently makes the Polo, Vento and the Skoda Rapid and has an annual installed capacity of 200,000 vehicles.

“Last year we had sold 1,23,456 cars and this year we are targeting 15% growth on volumes the Ameo will generate,” Lauermann said, adding that the petrol variant will be launched first, while the diesel variant with the new TDi engine will follow after Diwali.

“To start with we will make 150 units of the Ameo per day,” he said.

Though VW’s exports from India are high at 60 per cent mainly on account of popularity of the Vento in overseas markets, the Ameo is targeted at the Indian market as its comes only as a right hand drive.

Among the standard features of the car are dual front airbags and ABS. Other features include cruise control, rain sensing wipers and static cornering lights.

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