Mumbai, Sept 5: Volkswagen India on Wednesday launched its premium segment sedan Passat diesel in India in two variants. Priced at Rs 22.35 lakh and Rs 24.35 lakh (ex showroom Delhi) respectively, both the Passat variants will sport a four cylinder TDi 2.0 litre Highline engines.

"We are excited to be in India and we are sure that Passat will set the pace for our future product launches in India. This launch should affirm our commitment to provide the latest technology and high value to the discerning Indian customer," said managing director of Volkswagen Group Sales India Pvt Ltd and president Volkswagen India Pvt Ltd Joerg Muller.

This marks the first direct launch by the German company in India after a long wait that saw it courting a scam and long delay and deliberation in zeroing down on the venue for an Indian manufacturing plant. It finally chose Maharashtra as the final venue for the plant.

Though Volkswagen Passat is the first official launch from the brand in India, its other two popular cars namely Phaeton and Touareg are already being imported by dealers. Passat will be imported in India as CKD and will be assembled at VW’s group company Skoda Auto’s assembly plant in Aurangabad, Maharashtra.

In addition to a number of high-end features not offered in cars of this segment before, what could make Passat a winner in India is the fact that it sports a diesel engine at this price.

Both the cars will have automatic transmission mode, give output of 103 kW (140 BHP) and torque of 320 Nm at 1750-2500 RPM.

The Passat engine is one of the most successful engines in the VW range. Its key features include among others eight airbags, Anti-brake locking system (ABS) and electronic stabilisation programme (ESP), top speed of 206 kmph, and acceleration of 0-100 in 9.8 seconds.

Passat will be available in six colours in India. Volkswagen has sold 14 million Passats since its launch in 1973.