German automotive group Volkswagen said on Monday that it has been granted a non-banking finance company (NBFC) licence by the Reserve Bank of India.
Volkswagen Finance Pvt Ltd (VWFPL) will now start operations with a head-office in Mumbai and an initial investment of $24 million (Rs 120 crore). It will support the growth of VW’s business in India by providing in-house financing with three product lines to cater to the Volkswagen, Skoda and Audi brands. The financing options will be available across all of the 164 dealers of the three Group brands.
“The RBI licence enables the company to offer customers a wide range of financial services, including bundled 3-in-1 packages consisting of financing, insurance and maintenance. Globally, Volkswagen Financial Services (VWFS) provides captive financial services for its brand of cars and supports vehicle sales in 38 countries,” said a company statement.
Sales support
Mr Joern Achim Kurzrock, Chairman of the Board, VWFPL said, “Our focus is to support sales of our branded vehicles to customers. We are coming with three product lines to focus on specific needs of each customer segment.”
VWFS is a fully owned subsidiary of Volkswagen AG and is headquartered in Braunschweig, Germany. It has a global customer base of over six million. In India, VWFS will operate through Volkswagen Finance Private Ltd (‘VWFPL’), incorporated in 2009. As on December 31, 2010, the total assets of VWFS amounted to approximately €65 billion, with net income of €0.6 billion.
Article source: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/industry-and-economy/banking/article1578961.ece