Merc set to bring A Class premium compact to India

In India the automobile market is dominated by compact cars. to join the race in the small car segment, Mercedes Benz is planning to bring its small car, the A Class, to India, a top official said.


Benz is planning to bring its small car, the A Class, to India, a top official said.


“The competition is heating up in the small car segment and we plan to bring our small car, the A Class, to the Indian market within two years,” Peter Trettin, president & CEO of Daimler, Central and Eastern Europe, Africa and Asia, said.


The A Class model has sold over 680,000 units worldwide since its launch in 2004. It was positioned as the trailblazer for a new vehicle segment.


Mercedes-Benz plans to expand its premium compact vehicle portfolio comprising the A and B Class from two to four models starting end-2011. The future models will offer product attributes that are already popular among A and B Class customers, such as a spacious interior. The models will also set a new tone through the introduction of additional variants and concepts.


Trettin said the company would position the A Class as its entry-level car in the Indian market. “It will be priced competitively to get a foothold in the market,” said Trettin. He was visiting the 100-acre greenfield plant at Chakan near Pune, in which the company has invested Euro 50 million.


Trettin said the Indian economy was growing rapidly and with it the aspirations of the people for better cars compared to the regions he was overseeing. “With the growth in the Indian economy, we expect the demand for our products to rise considerably,” he said.


Wilfried Aulbur, MD and CEO, Mercedes Benz India, claimed sales had picked up since December. “In 2010, the luxury car segment grew 80 per cent, but Mercedes Benz has grown 157 per cent and this is without the GL launch,” he pointed out.


The Mercedes Benz GL Class is a crossover sports utility vehicle and it matches, size-wise, Audi’s Q7 and BMW’s X5.


The company’s bus order book was full till September, mainly from the state transport departments, Aulbur said, but did not disclose volumes. “Demand in the market is picking up rapidly,” he added.


Trettin said the commercial vehicles market in India was doing well compared to other markets where sales had fallen by 90 per cent. “Eastern Europe and Central Europe were suffering and the company had to buy back stocks from the dealers and distribute them in other markets,” he said. The Middle East also saw a dip in commercial vehicles sales, he added.


Trettin said that from 24,000 trucks and 24,000 vans sold in 2008, sales were down to 9,000 each of trucks and vans in 2009.

Audi Q7 enters Indian SUV market!

The latest lady in town is SUV Audi Q7, which German premier car maker Audi announced on Thursday.

The sports vehicle will be available in Maharashtra in 11 colours and in three price range costing Rs 55.2 lakhs, Rs 53.4 lakh and Rs 29.9 lakh.

The car has all the latest ranging from features like voice control, so the driver can just call out the name of a song on the music system or a phone number from the cellphone.

It also has adaptable headlights that switch on or off according to the moves of the car, showing the path ahead. This seven seater luxurious car has a capacity of about 2,035 litres.

“Audi India achieved remarkable growth in the first eight months of 2009 by selling 1,128 cars (62 percent growth). With the launch of new Audi Q7, we expect to sell upwards of 1,500 cars,” said Audi India managing director Benoit Tiers.

Delhi, Gurgaon, Chandigarh, Ludhiana, Mumbai, Pune, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai,Kolkata and Kochi already has Audi dealers.

“We plan to expand to Jaipur, Lucknow, Nagpur and Coimbatore soon,” Tiers said. Now that’s what the car lovers fantasy comes true!

New Audi Q7 - NOW in INDIA

The luxury car maker Audi has launched the new Q7 in India. The New Audi Q7 is a full-size luxury crossover Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV).

The new Audi Q7 comes in three engine variants. There are two petrol engine options to select and one diesel engine option. The petrol engines are 3.6L FSI Quattro which can generate 280 bhp and the 4.2L FSI Quattro that churns out a power of 350 bhp.

The diesel engine is powered by a 3.0L TDI Quattro engine that can produce 240 bhp. Audi gives us a wide palate of eleven new colours to select: Ibis White, Teak Brown, Orca Black and Graphite Grey as well as the existing colors which include Deep Black, Bahia Beige, Cobalt Blue, Condor Grey, Ice Silver, Garnet Red and Lava Grey.

The new Audi Q7 is a sporty, comfortable, high-performance SUV. The SUV is designed to grab attention of the customers with its side view that commands attention. The low window area, the arched roof line and the tautly curved body surfaces presents a coupe-like silhouette and this design is truly mesmerizing.





New accents at the front and rear end appeal the eyes of the viewers. New single-frame radiator grill in high gloss black with vertical chrome bars adds robustness to the car in conjunction with new Xenon headlights with LED daytime running lights. The new Audi Q7 also comes with optional high-end headlight version that integrates not only a low beam, high beam, and turning and cornering lights, but for the first time also a special superhighway beam.

The new Audi Q7 SUV is endowed with adaptable headlights that switch on or off according to the movement of the car, showing the path ahead clearly. The restyled tailgate presents a more forceful contour. LEDs are standard equipment in the taillights. An aluminum exterior package adds further highlights to the styling. The S line exterior package is designed for sports-minded customers and is available as optional equipment.

The new Audi Q7 can boast of some new features like voice control that can enable the driver to operate a cell phone or music system by just uttering the phone number or the name of a song. The new Audi Q7 has comfortable seating for seven persons with ample legroom and luggage space of about 2,035 litres.

Audi is expecting to sell 1,700-1,800 units and a growth of 70 per cent by the end of this year. Audi India has achieved a growth of 62 per cent in 2009 by selling 1,128 cars so far.

The entire Audi model range, comprising the newly launched, Audi Q5 and the new Audi A6, the Audi A8, the Audi Q7, the Audi A4, the Audi TT and the super sports car Audi R8, are currently available at 12 dealerships across the country. The German luxury car behemoth is also planning to expand its dealership to 18 in two years in India.

Audi India is expecting to start assembling its Q5 SUV in India by March 2010. They will the assembling process at the Aurangabad plant. The company currently assembles its luxury sedans A4 and A6 at its Aurangabad plant.

The new Q7 is available in the showrooms from 3rd September 2009. The new Audi Q7 range starts at (ex-showroom Mumbai) Rs 53.4 Lakh for the 3.0 TDI Quattro, Rs 55.2 Lakh for the 3.6 FSI Quattro and Rs.29.9 Lakh for the 4.2 FSI Quattro.

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.

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.