The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Beetle to hit Indian roads in April

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Sunday, Jan 20, 2008
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Beetle to hit Indian roads in April

Staff Reporter

Owners of the 20th Century design to hold rally today

It will be in a new avatar — the New Beetle
The price is yet to be decided

BANGALORE: Here is good news to those who love the Beetle, the world’s favourite automotive Bug. This beauty of the 20th Century, from the stable of German auto major Volkswagen, is likely to hit the Indian roads by April in a new avatar – the New Beetle.

Beetle has been the heartbeat for many a car lover worldwide with its distinctive features, inspiring even a couple of Hollywood films. Volkswagen then turned contemporary by coming out with New Beetle in 1993.

Gurjit Singh, Managing Director, PCH Group, the first authorised dealer of Volkswagen in India, said here on Saturday that the New Beetle will come in a completely assembled form. The price, he said, was yet to be decided.

Mr. Singh was speaking to The Hindu on the eve of a Beetle Rally organised in the city by the Bangalore Beetle Club on Sunday to formally welcome the Volkswagen to Bangalore. “We set up the shop two months ago and have sold nearly 30 “Passat”, Volkswagen’s sedan,” Mr. Singh, who is Volkswagen’s dealer for South India, said.

Placed in the luxury segment, Passat offered more features and safety at a lesser price than other cars in the segment, Mr. Singh claimed. He said PCH aimed to sell nearly 200 units of Passat by 2008-end.

Volkswagen would bring other models and had already introduced the 225 HP sports utility vehicle “Toureg” in the Indian market.

The rally

Members of Bangalore Beetle Club have planned to accord a rousing welcome to Volkswagen by arranging the rally, where the oldies move along with Passat, the luxury sedan. “This is nothing but a novel way to welcome the Volkswagen to Bangalore with the auto major’s first car – Beetle – and to showcase that Volkswagen machines work well even after decades,” said Narendra Raj, one of the founding members of the club. M. Shamsundar, a consulting general surgeon and another founding member, said he owned a Beetle for the last two decades. Dr. Shamsundar said while the club had around 20 members, there were many more Beetle owners in the city. “We extend support to many charitable causes by participating in the vintage car rallies,” he said. The club, in association with PCH, participates in the Sunday’s rally that will be flagged off by Volkswagen’s India Managing Director Andreas Prinz at Hotel Royal Orchid on Airport Road.

Beetle, also known as Bug, is one of the design icons of the 20th Century. It was produced when Adolf Hitler asked designer Ferdinand Porsche to design a volks-wagen (folks’ wagon) that could do 100 km/hr while carrying two adults and three children. After service in World War II, the car evolved into a commercial model.

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