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 launch SUV Q5 in India

Audi is ready to launch its new SUV Q5 in India on June 05. The brand new SUV was launched in Europe in November 2008. The new Audi Q5 is geared towards brand building and Audi’s plans to expand its product portfolio in India. BMW has already surpassed Mercedes sales figures in the country and Audi is looking at the same market segment with keen eyes. To facilitate its growth in Inda, Audi plans to invest around 30 million Euros in India, till year 2015. Audi already marks its presence in the luxury SUV segment with its model Q7.

The Model



The company has not released any official specifications about the car or made any comment about the expected price range as well but is definitely betting big volumes with this car especially in India and Russia. The car will be imported as a CBU or completely built units in India from Audi’s Ingolstadt facility in Germany.



According to the industry sources, the new Q5 will be a 5-seater SUV which can be safely called as a mini-SUV and is very much in line with its big brother Q7. It has taken the styling cues from Q7 series which remains one of the favourites amongst the car buyers and designers. The basic style still features sportiness clubbed with all the luxuries of any basic premium SUV model.



Q5 definitely has an enormous boot space and with its rear styling like Q7, the Indian SUV surely will be lot roomier at the back. The imposing grille in the front is iconic of any Audi car but the vertical sports bars make the car look extremely classy. The Xenon lamps further lend an aggressive look to the car which seems necessary for any SUV. SUVs cannot have the softer looks of a luxury sedan, can they?



Audi brought as many as four variants of its SUV Q5 in Europe but in India it plans to bring only two variants - a 3.0-liter TDI diesel car and 2.0 liter TFSI petrol car. It will sport a 7 speed manual gearbox which is special because it allows clutch-less manual shifting. Audi’s Quattro 4-wheel system marks its presence in all its models and you can expect the same in Q5 as well. It will have 40:60 front-torque split to give more sporting drive. Q5 has been designed in such a way that it offers good visibility to the driver and even with its compact design; it does not intimidate the driver. You can expect the huge door mirrors to make a lot of wind noise at high driving speeds.



The Price and Other Features

For the mileage and the actual price of the car, the Indian customers will have to wait till the exact launch date. However, since Audi Q5 is expected to rival BMW X3 in India the expected price of the car is between Rs. 45 -50 lakh. Its current Audi Q7 is prices at Rs. 57 lakhs in India and Q5 will be definitely priced below that.