Volkswagen Group owned Audi's Indian subsidiary recently raced past Daimler AG's Mercedes Benz sales figures, eventually dominating the second highest step of the podium. Being shot in the arm by the extraordinary achievement, Audi is confident of raising its bars further, so much so that it is able to push the luxury-market leader BMW AG from its pinnacle by 2015.
Reaching out for the growth targets with immense commitment, Audi is mulling upon design changes at large-scale, for which it has invested in two design firms located in Germany. Stefan Sielaff who will head Audi AQR which stands for A’ – sedans, Q – quattro (SUVs) and R – sports cars was quoted as saying, "We know that some people think our saloons look too alike and are well into a project to change that we will mainly do that with the proportions of those cars. And it will mean differences."
Volkswagen's luxury car unit, Audi is eyeing at a 49% stake in the design specialist CSI Unternehmensgruppe. Audi's Development Chief, Michael Dick said, "Engineers at CSI have been a reliable partner for more than ten years."
As a matter of fact, CSI are specialists in shaping up the interior and exterior modules and moreover, have been associated with Daimler AG's Mercedes-Benz and Porsche AG, the two leading car makers. In the recent past, Audi inked a deal with design specialist PSW Automotive Engineering GmbH, in order to take a 91% stake in the company. It is important to note that PSW has also worked with VW, Daimler, and BMW in the past.
Thus, Audi India is all-set to re-define its position in the market, aiming to unsettle its rivals using unprecedented class and luxury.
