Skoda Automobile Volkswagen India, the regional arm of Volkswagen AG, the biggest automaker in Europe, decided to use its own internal electric vehicle design while still looking for partnerships and alliances in the nation. The business had investigated the New Flexible Architecture (NFA) for internal combustion engine vehicles and Mahindra’s INGLO EV platform.
These discussions, however, failed to materialize, and the European auto giant has chosen to localize its own global architectures—the MQB A037 vehicle architecture for gasoline and hybrid vehicles and the CMP platform for EVs.
In order to meet the indigenous cost structure and requirements, the automaker has therefore begun developing the “India Main Platform,” or IMP, for EVs. This platform is a derivative of the CMP (China Main Platform) and incorporates significant localized components.
With two models each for the Skoda and VW brands, this platform will give rise to four electric SUVs for the group. The IMP platform is expected to produce a mid-size SUV and a compact SUV EV for the Skoda and Volkswagen brands.
According to the sources, the company also plans to use India as an export hub for these EVs, which would be sent to markets all over the world.
The next generation Skoda Kushaq and Volkswagen Taigun, which will be larger and broader and have new electrical and electronic architectures to provide SDV features, will be based on the MQB A037. Hybrid technology is compatible with the platform.
A Skoda Auto Volkswagen India representative emphasized that India is essential to the group’s growth strategy and that it aims to offer the widest and most modern product portfolio to customers in the country, without confirming or rejecting the plans for these vehicle platforms.