Reference Auto

The new Jetta, which has a more contemporary form and sharper styling, is propelled by a 2-litre, 4-cylinder CRDi engine, which helps cut noise and emission substantially, with maximum power output at 140 PS. It also has LED day-time running lights and exterior rear fog lights, besides leather upholstery, rear AC vents and a touch-screen music system.

The new Jetta is 90 mm longer compared with the older model and comes with a complete design makeover so far as the interiors go.

Moreover, it has a lean look on the exterior.

The Jetta had a petrol version earlier but Volkswagen saw no point in keeping the variant, especially in the wake of petrol prices hitting the roof.

Jetta will have to slug it out with the likes of Honda Civic, Skoda Laura, Chevrolet Cruze and Toyota Corolla Altis.

The top variant of the Jetta, which comes with automatic transmission, will be available for Rs 18 lakh. The new sedan is more powerful compared with the previous model.

Neeraj Garg, member of board and director, Volkswagen Passenger Cars, Volkswagen group sales India, said, “The Jetta has turned out to be a worldwide bestseller for Volkswagen, and with the sixth generation now, we are bullish that this will continue. The good news is that this new range will be available at an even better pricing than the previous Jetta.”

The company is bullish on ramping up sales in the premium sedan segment (which also includes the Passat), which has seen flat sales growth in the first seven months of this year compared with the previous year, Garg said.

Wary that a diesel price rise could spoil the party, Garg added that the market witnessed a shift towards diesel cars. However, in case there is any hike in price of the fuel or an additional duty, it could take a big toll on the car industry’s growth.

Volkswagen has had a good run with its diesel cars. For instance, 60 per cent of Polo’s sales and 70 per cent of entry-level sedan Vento’s sales came from diesel models. But during launch of these two cars, the petrol version had witnessed higher sales.

He said lack of growth in the premium sedan segment was mainly owing to surging interest rates and dearth of new models, which VW hopes to reverse by rolling out a litany of variants.

Nearly 3,000 cars are sold in the premium sedan segment in the country every year. But VW, which is also into compact cars, sold 32,500 cars last year, and so far this year, it managed to clock sales of 44,000 cars. At this rate, VW can almost hope to register over 100 per cent sales growth.

But how much the premium segment will contribute will be hard to say, especially in the wake of a slowdown in the domestic as well as the global car markets.

Moreover, with the US debt crisis weighing in, VW could find the going tough in India’s premium sedan segment, but if it continues to roll out a slew of models regularly, VW could hope to find many takers for its cars such as the Jetta as high-end car buyers would be seeking more variety.