Official - New Volkswagen Jetta during H2 2011

Just a day after we reported on the new Jetta without BlueMotion technology, a top official from VW has confirmed its India entry.

VW plans to make this year just about them. After launching 2 cars – Vento IPL Edition and New Passat Bluemotion in the same month, news is making rounds that VW is planning to launch the New Jetta by the second half of this year.

Volkswagen Passenger cars Director and Board member Neeraj Garg -

We will finish the existing ones (sales) and get in the new one in the second half of this calendar year.

The new Jetta is partly based on the PQ35 platform which supports the new Golf, Yeti, Superb and even the upcoming Q3. It carries the same design language that we saw on the new Vento. In fact, in certain South American Markets, the new Jetta is sold as a Vento. Think of it as a bigger, brawnier Vento.

In the European markets, the new Jetta is offered in 5 engine option of which 2 are expected to hit India:

• 1.4 TSI Petrol engine producing 122 hp
• 2.0 TDI diesel engine producing 140 hp

Automatic and manual transmissions will be offered.

However, VW is a bit skeptical about introducing the BlueMotion technology in the new Jetta.

We think VW should introduce the BlueMotion technology to make sure that the Jetta is separated from its competition such as Civic, Cruze, Laura. Because, if you see the current Jetta, it is kind of like a little child that is lost in the crowd since it has no definite ‘Selling Point’ of its own. The Corolla is Value for Money, the Civic is Reliable, the Cruze is Powerful and the Laura is Feature-Packed but the Jetta has nothing to talk about it except for the clichéd ‘German Build Quality’.

In such a scenario, an ‘Environmentally Friendly’ tag or 'Fuel-bill Friendly' tag will give the prospective customers something different in the same segment.

Volkswagen is certainly taking the top-down approach with BlueMotion. It also wants customers to understand the technology and benefits before introducing it on other brands. The Polo diesel, for example, has certain BlueMotion bits carried over. But bringing the entire host of fuel saving technologies will pump up the price tag. Only if the consumer understands the benefits will he pay up.

What do you think? Should the new Jetta be have a ‘BlueMotion’ tag?