Volkswagen Group India strengthens its service footprint with two new customer-centric facilities

A brand new Centralised Warranty Parts Return Centre (WPRC) inaugurated for enhancing
customer satisfaction
Expansion of operations from Regional Distribution Centre (RDC) in Chakan, Pune to support all regions in India

Volkswagen Group India today announced two important steps towards
improving its after sales and service experience for its customers in India. The company announced
expansion of the Regional Distribution Centre (RDC) which was inaugurated in September last year.
Additionally, a brand new Centralised Warranty Parts Return Centre (WPRC) was also inaugurated for
strengthening part analysis and product improvement.

Expansion of Regional Distribution Center

While in the first phase, the RDC only focused on supporting its export markets, it will now cater to
Volkswagen Group India customers across all regions in the country. Spread over an area of 25,000 sq. m. in the premises of Volkswagen Pune Plant, this is an important milestone for the company in India in its plan to emerge as a stronger player in the country. Present at the inauguration were:

• Mr. Gurpratap Boparai, Head of Volkswagen Group India
• Mr. Justin Nolte, Director – After Sales & Vehicle Logistics Volkswagen Group India
• Mr. Vinod Prakash Shivhare, Head – Parts & Vehicle Logistics, Volkswagen Group India.

The state-of-the-art RDC facility has been designed in co-operation with Volkswagen AG worldwide. The
RDC will now distribute parts to its Parts Distribution Centres in NCR region as well as Bangalore from
where further supply to all the dealerships and service stations in those regions will take place. For the
dealerships in Western & Central India, RDC would directly supply spare parts to ensure that customers
get one-day delivery thus improving satisfaction levels.

Speaking on this occasion, Mr. Boparai said, “Customer satisfaction is one of our top-most priorities in
India. With the expansion of operations from our Regional Distribution Centre in Chakan, Pune, we have taken an important step towards this goal.” He further added, “Volkswagen Group is committed to the Indian market and with these steps we are reinforcing our promise under our India 2.0 project.”

Explaining the expansion at RDC, Mr. Nolte commented, “This centre will provide spare parts for all
models available in India under the Volkswagen Group including brands Volkswagen, Skoda, Audi, Porsche and Lamborghini. We are listening to our customers and taking the steps in the right direction to address their concerns. With one-day delivery of spare parts, we are sure to see a dramatic improvement in customer satisfaction.”

With its strategic location, the RDC in Chakan, Pune will significantly contribute in reducing current lead- time in providing genuine parts to the dealers across the states of Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. This is aimed to improve Volkswagen Group after sales service offering, investing in creating world-class infrastructure and striving to remain a step ahead of the customers’ requirement by anticipating and offering them genuine parts by making it readily available.

Brand new Warranty Parts Return Centre for future proofing Volkswagen Group India products
A brand new centralized Warranty Parts Return Centre was inaugurated at the RDC facility as well by Mr. Gurpratap Boparai, Mr. Justin Nolte and Mr. Shriniwas Chakravarthy, Head – Technical Service,
Volkswagen Group India. All warranty return parts from pan-India dealer network will be collected at this centralized facility in Chakan, Pune. The WPRC has ample facilities for inspection and analysis of such parts. Technical Service, Field Quality and Suppliers will jointly undertake the activities at the WPRC. This will further strengthen the robust process for part analysis and corrective measures wherever required aiding product improvement. The underlying goal for the WPRC is contributing towards enhancing customer satisfaction.

About Volkswagen Group India

The Volkswagen Group is represented by five passenger car brands in India:

• Audi,
• Lamborghini,
• Porsche,
• ŠKODA,
• Volkswagen

The Volkswagen Group has been present in India for the last 18 years and began its India journey with the entry of the ŠKODA brand in 2001. The Audi brand and Volkswagen brand entered India in 2007, while Porsche brand and Lamborghini brand followed in 2012. Each brand has its own character and operates as an independent entity in the market. Volkswagen Group India has about 30 models in India about 240 dealerships and is operating two plants – Pune and Aurangabad.

The Pune Plant has a manufacturing capacity of 200,000 cars per year (maximum in three-shift system) and is currently manufacturing Volkswagen Polo, Ameo and Vento and ŠKODA Rapid. The Aurangabad Plant assembles various premium and luxury models of Audi, ŠKODA and Volkswagen sold in India and has an annual maximum capacity of approximately 89,000.

Volkswagen Group India is a part of Volkswagen AG, which is globally represented by 12 brands –

• Audi
• Bentley
• Bugatti
• Ducati
  Lamborghini
• Porsche
• Scania
• SEAT
• ŠKODA
• Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles
• MAN
• Volkswagen Passenger Cars