Currently reading: Skoda and Tata Motors India product range to launch in 2019
The joint venture will allow Volkswagen Group and Skoda to make a bigger impact in the Indian market and save Tata Motors money in developing a new platform

Tata Motors has reached a deal with the Volkswagen Group and Skoda to develop and launch a new range of products in India by 2019, as first reported by Autocar India.

Matthias Müller, CEO of the Volkswagen Group, Guenter Butschek, managing director of Tata Motors, and Bernhard Maier, CEO of Skoda, have signed a memorandum of understanding for a "long-term" partnership to "explore strategic alliance opportunity for joint development of products".

The Skoda branch of the VW Group will be the leaders in the agreement, which will result in a product launch in the Indian market in two years.

The partnership has reportedly been under discussion for more than a year, with Volkswagen’s MQB-A platform suggested as the possible shareable architecture. However, it was deemed too expensive for the Indian market, so instead it's thought that Tata will use its own Advanced Modular Platform (AMP) to spawn a range of products as part of the alliance.

Tata will focus on engine development, because the Volkswagen Group's units are too expensive, and it is thought to be interested in using Volkswagen’s electrical technology as well.

The vehicles produced will target the Indian market, allowing Volkswagen and Skoda the only real possibility of making a meaningful sales impact in a country that is notoriously difficult to crack for non-domestic manufacturers. The deal will also allow Tata to save costs in developing its new platform.

"Our aim with the envisaged strategic partnership with Tata Motors is to lay the foundations in the Group and the brands that will enable us to offer customer-oriented mobility solutions in the emerging, fast-growing automobile markets, as elsewhere," Müller said.

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kboothby 11 March 2017

ermmmm..

So VAG get access to cheap platforms and labour, TATA get what?? Maybe intel on how to cheat emission regs?
Tornadorot 10 March 2017

Hmmm

So VW's platforms are too expensive, their engines are too expensive, what does that leave then?
rjv 10 March 2017

AMP

A detailed report on autocar india site states VW is looking to use the modular platform developed by tata motors called the advanced modular platform which is much cheaper than the MQB. Apparently VW has independently evaluated the AMP and are impressed by the safety and crash worthiness of that platform. VW will also assist tata to develop the engines which again will be cheaper to produce than the VW units