Spied - VW intensifies testing of the emerging market Up! variant

The VW Up! is the German auto giant's key to open the floodgates in the mass markets of emerging nations such as India and Brazil.

The Up! was launched in late 2011 in Europe and went on the win the prestigious world car of the year title for the year 2012. The small car is a part of the VW group's New Small Family (NSF) series.

Indian Autos Blog's readers had spotted the Up! several times around the Pune area and we have also presented our readers, the spyshots of the car being tested in Brazil which is another important market for the Up!

At a technology fair in New Delhi recently, VW India's spokesperson said the Up! will not reach production until the localization hits 90%. The current localization level of the Up! is about 70%.

Seen here is yet another set of spyshots of the car which was caught testing in Brazil albeit using the Skoda Citigo as decoy.

The VW Up! is expected to undergo some changes to adapt it to emerging markets. The boot space and rear seat comfort will be tweaked as rear seats are mostly occupied in India's journeys.

The car will have a three cylinder 1.0-litre petrol motor in two states of tune - 60 bhp and 75 bhp, and a diesel engine is planned for India. The Brazilian version of the 1.0 litre petrol motor will have the capability to run on ethanol as well.

VW India is in the process of increasing the localization level and a sub-4m long sedan is in the pipeline. The production version of the Taigun concept would be the SUV body on this series. In short, the Up! is what the Brio is to Honda, and VW relies on scale to keep prices competitive.

[Source: Autossegredos.com.br]