Luxury car manufacturer, Audi will soon be launching their sports sedan A3 in the Indian auto market, as it aims to increase its volumes in the fast growing industry. The company had begun a study for assessing their potential in this market.
The head of Audi India, Michael Perschke, said that they have narrowed down on certain products which they would like to bring to this market for increasing their leadership position over here. Among these, they are looking to add the A3 model to their Indian market portfolio and conducting a study of the market, which will help them evaluate the feedback from their customers.
Perschke, however refused to announce the timeline for the launch, saying that they were seriously considering launching the luxury SUV Q3 by next year in India. Their A6, business sedan will also hit Indian roads this year, by August. It would however, take some time till the company decides to introduce their small compact models in India.
Perschke said that they have a very top-down approach. They want to set up their brand as well as ensure that their customers are able to understand their values and positioning which Audi is known for before introducing and focusing on the sale of compact models like the A1 in India.
Audi India recorded posted an 81% growth last year, selling 3,003 vehicles and therefore revised their sales target upwards for this year because of increased demand. Audi India now expects to sell around 4,800 to 5,000 cars this year. Because of the growth witnessed by the company in the first quarter this year, they believe that the will be able to sell more car models this year than they expected earlier.
They are currently looking to sell about 4,500 models this year. The sales of Audi India almost doubled in the year’s first four months to 1,986 models in comparision to the models it sold in the same period the year before. The company sold 375 units in April, in comparision to the 198 units it sold in April, 2010.
Perschke added that the overall market, this year grew by around 60% touching 5,500 units in comparision to the 3,500 units sold in the corresponding January to April period last year. They aim to grow faster, in this rapidly growing market. Audi India launched two new models, the A7 Sportback priced above Rs.64 lakh according to ex-showroom Delhi, which is available in both diesel and petrol options, and RS5 Coupe which is priced around Rs.76 lakhs according to ex-showroom Delhi. This coupe is powered by a V8 4.2l engine delivering a max power of 440bhp.
when it will be launched????????????????????