Volkswagen to Sell Rebadged A-Star in India

Just like the other big names in the industry, Volkswagen wants greater sales in India and, as far as the Germans are concerned, the easiest and the fastest way to do that is to use the agreement it has with Suzuki. Volkswagen will thus get the A-Star model manufactured in India by Maruti Suzuki, the company in which Suzuki holds a 20 percent stake, and sell it as a rebadged model in the local and other Asian markets.

A report by The Economic Times reveals that Volkswagen wants to sell the rebadged model under a new brand, but it's yet unclear whether the Germans are planning to establish a whole new brand or use an existing one. However, one thing is sure: the car will receive several modifications at both the design and mechanical chapters to bring it in line with the other Volkswagen models.

Maruti Suzuki already supplies the A-Start to Nissan Motors, the Japanese carmaker that sells the model as Pixo across Europe. Furthermore, the vehicle is sold by Suzuki overseas under the Alto designation, so Volkswagen will most likely keep the car out of Europe for the time being.

This is not the first time when Suzuki and Volkswagen are brought together in the spotlights when it comes to a new model. Back in December 2009, just after the two made the first step of their deal, people familiar with the matter came in and revealed that VW and Suzuki are working on a future affordable model that would be produced by Maruti Suzuki and would replace the Alto.

Volkswagen hasn't yet issued a statement on the subject, but we'll keep you posted as soon as we got more info on this.