Audi, the well-known German car maker, is expecting that India will be counted among its top 10 auto markets in the world by 2014-2015. In the last calendar year, the company delivered 9,003 units in the country and is planning to roll out around 10,500-10,800 units in 2013 with a growth of 20 per cent. On this, the head of Audi India, Michael Perschke said, “India is currently among the top ten strategic markets globally for Audi, although in terms of volumes, it is not there. We expect the country to be among the top ten globally in terms of sales for Audi by 2014-2015.”
He further said that India would move to around 6th or 7th rank by the end of 2020 from its present position of 22. Speaking on Audi’s future plans, Perschke said that the company will introduce around 5 new models in the Indian market, including new models of R8 and S6. Interestingly, the company has already launched a refreshed model of Q5, of which Audi has received 250 bookings.
Speaking on the company’s future plans, he added, “Overall for 2013, we are targeting total sales of around 10,500 to 10,800 units at a growth of about 20 per cent. Out of these, we expect our SUVs under the Q range to account for about 40 per cent of the sales.”
Expressing his views on the auto maker’s future investments in the country, Perschke said that as a part of Audi’s five year plan, the company has already invested 30 million Euros in the country. However, he refused to comment on Audi’s investment in the next five year plan. Perschke said, “The Audi board is now considering the plans for the next five year. The board is very bullish on India and its long term potential. By the middle of this year we may finalise details for the next five years.”
The German auto maker currently assembles its A4 and A6 sedans with Q5 and Q7 SUVs at its Aurangabad manufacturing unit. Besides, the auto maker is planning to assemble Q3 in the country by the second quarter of 2013. With these plans, the overall production capacity is expected to reach 12,000 units a year. Following the aggressive expansion plans for the Indian market, Audi seems well prepared to outpace its indigenous auto maker BMW in 2013.
