India production to go up by 50 pc next year: Audi

German luxury car-maker Audi on Friday said it will ramp up its output by 50 per cent in India to about 3,000 units next year, even as it gets ready to enter the used-car business by 2011.

The company's wholly-owned subsidiary, Audi India, is also considering the launch of luxury sedan A7 and will initiate a market study for the same.

"Seeing the demand that we are having for our products, I think that we will have to start the second shift at our plant. Our production from the plant will be exceeding 3,000 units next year," Audi India Head Michael Perschke said.

The company, which currently assembles luxury sedans A4, A6 and sports utility vehicle Q5 at its Aurangabad facility, expects to produce about 2,000 units this year, he added.

Perschke said the company will roll out a new variant of A6 next year from the facility. The plant has an installed production capacity of 6,000 units.

"We will also launch a completely new A8 and a 4.2 litre TDI version of Q7. These two cars will be imported," he added.

When asked if the company is planning to introduce any new model in India, Perschke said: "We are looking very seriously for the A7. We will do a market research and evaluate its demand in the country."

He, however, declined to give any timeframe for launching the vehicle in India.

He said the company expects to sell about 2,700 units this year compared to 1,658 units in 2009.

Asked if Audi India will start a used car business like its rivals, Mercedes-Benz and BMW, Perschke said: "Most probably from next year we will have the pre-owned car business. We already have it in Europe under 'Audi Plus' brand."

He said the company has not yet decided about the branding of the used-car business for India.

Audi India had earlier committed an investment of 30 million euros till 2015. It has already put in about 65 per cent of the amount.

"Every year we are exceeding our own expectations. If the market grows at this rate, then we see all reasons to revise our investment by 2012," Perschke said.

He said the luxury car market in India could cross the 12,000 units mark this year. With a target of about 2,700 units for this year, Audi's share would be about 25 per cent.

The company is also expanding its dealership network to about 20 by next year from the existing 14 outlets, he added.

Audi to drive in R8 at Rs 1.17 cr

German luxury car maker Audi will launch its sports car 'R8' in India this November, with a price tag of Rs 1.17 crore, even as the company gears up to clock an overall sales of around 1,000 cars in the country this year.

The sports luxury car will be an addition to the company's line of luxury sedans, including the A4, A6, A8, TT Coupe, and SUV Q7.

"The (R8) cost will be over crore...Rs 1.17 crore," Vice-President Marketing Audi (India) Martin Birkner said here.

Asked how many R8s Audi was planning to sell in India, he said the company has received orders for 15 units already, which would be delivered this year.

Bullish on the fast growing luxury-car market in India, Audi has already posted a 200 per cent growth this year from that of last year.

"The whole segment is growing and we are growing even faster than the segment. We will sell this year about 1,000 cars in India," he said, adding 350 units were sold last year.

Birkner said Audi's A4, which it has started assembling in India, has a major contribution to the speedy growth and added, "we will try to get more production to India to meet the demand for this product." The company had, earlier, said it planned to produce 11,000 units of A4 by 2015 in India.

Kochi emerges as the potential market for Audi India

The Indian arm of the German luxury carmaker Audi AG has announced the appointment of five new dealerships at Ludhiana, Ahmedabad, Chennai, Kochi and Kolkata, thus scaling up its dealership network to 12 locations across the country. The showrooms will have separate modern Audi workshop to service all Audi models. It has been learnt from company sources that Kochi, one of the principal cities of Kerala, will emerge as the potential market for luxury car segment as a number of premium carmakers are setting up their dealerships in the city. Audi India had appointed Patel Cars as its dealer in Kochi.

According to an Audi press release, the Kochi showroom coming up at Maradu, near the NH bye-pass will have separate modern Audi workshop to service all Audi models. The release has also stated that the showroom will be designed to give customers a complete Audi experience - the whole Audi model range with different equipments and the Audi world with the international standards of Audi Corporate Identity.

In addition to the five newly appointed dealers, the Audi model range of Audi A8, Audi Q7, Audi A6, Audi A4 and Audi TT is available at present in seven dealership showrooms across the country in Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chandigarh and Gurgaon.

Audi appoints five new dealerships in India

Audi, the German luxury car manufacturer, announced on Friday the appointment of five new dealerships at Ludhiana, Ahmedabad, Chennai, Kochi and Kolkata expanding its dealership network to 12 locations across the country.

"Audi has received an overwhelming response in India. Our sales growth in first eight months of this year has been over 190 per cent. The announcement of the new dealerships is the commitment to a great future for the brand in India", says Benoit Tiers, Managing Director of Audi India. He added, "We are expanding to 12 exclusive and luxurious Audi dealerships in India. This will give customers the possibility to experience our models, the Audi world and premium service."

Audi Ahmedabad (Nixynova Motoren), Audi Chennai (Jubilant Enpro), Audi Kochi (Patel Cars), Audi Kolkata (Imperial Auto) and Audi Ludhiana (Olympus Motors) dealerships will be among the largest luxury car showrooms in their cities. The showrooms will have separate modern Audi workshop to service all Audi models. However, the dealerships have already started operating from their sales offices.

"In addition to the five newly appointed dealers, the Audi model range of Audi A8, Audi Q7, Audi A6, Audi A4 and Audi TT is available at present in seven dealership showrooms across the country: in Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chandigarh and Gurgaon," Tiers mentioned.

Audi to launch sports car R8

GERMAN luxury car manufacturer Audi would launch its acclaimed sports car R8 in India in October- November as it seeks to build the brand in the Indian market, a top official of Audi India said.



“ We will launch R8 in October- November in the last quarter. We already have the first order ( in India),” Audi India vice president, marketing, Martin Birkner said in Bangalore.



Audi sold 350 cars in India in the calendar year 2007 and has a target to nearly triple that number, mainly driven by sales of A4 sedan that was launched in India this month.

“ As we target sales of 1,000 cars in India by the end of this year, the new Audi A4 will be a crucial product to help us achieve this goal,” Birkner said. Audi, which commenced business activities in India in 2007, is keen to build the brand here, where the luxury car market has seen rapid growth, particularly in the April- June quarter.

“ We have more or less launched the brand in India last year. We have to build up the brand and we would like to push the brand ( in India),” Birkner said.



Audi’s model range in India comprises A8, Q7, A6, A4 and TT. Birkner said Audi expects to sell 1,000 units of A4 within a year of its launch, indicating that the sedan would be a main driver of growth for the company in the near term.

Prices of the new Audi A4 start at Rs 29 lakh ( ex- showroom Mumbai without CST, transportation) The company sold 470 cars in the January- June period of 2008 and with Audi, A4 will definitely cross the 1,000- mark.

Audi builds its A6 model at its Aurangabad assembly plant and plans to do the same with A4, which is currently being imported and would be completed by October.