GROWTH: Audi India records impressive sale of 9003 cars

Ludhiana, January 8, 2013:Audi, the German luxury car manufacturer, has recorded an impressive 63 percent growth in India in the calendar year 2012,exceeding its annual sales targets, yet again (Jan-Dec 2011: 5511 units). The brand with the four rings registered a total sale of 931 units in December 2012, a strong growth of 136 percent over the same period last year (Dec 2011: 394 units).

Commenting on the brand’s impressive performance in 2012, Michael Perschke, Head, Audi India, said, “The sheer acceptance of our brand in India is tremendous. We seta target of 8000 cars for the year 2012 but managed to achieve that target by November itself and revised it further to 8600 cars. We have managed to exceed this target as well with a total sale of 9003 cars. Our strong performance is a result of our diverse product portfolio, network expansion, unique marketing activities and after-sales service at par with global standards. We have already made headway in 24 dealerships across the country by consolidating our leadership presence in markets like the NCR region, Gujarat and Maharashtra among others.”

 “We also introduced 5 Audi models and variants in 2012 starting with the launch of Audi TT, new Audi A4,Audi Q3, Audi S4 and Audi A8L 4.2 TDI.  Our first offering of compact luxury SUV – Audi Q3was a huge success with 500 bookings within 5 days of launch. This was probably a new record in this category. Our business luxury limousine, Audi A6 and the new Audi A4 have also contributed greatly to this record sales performance,”said Perschke.

In2012, Audi strengthened its dealership network not only in metros, but also in tier II & tier III cities of India. Audi India now has a footprint in 21cities with 24 showrooms across the country with new showrooms in 2012 in Raipur,Kanpur, Goa, Navi Mumbai, Coimbatore, Delhi West, Nagpur, Bhopal and Ahmedabad.

After sweeping 27 awards in 2011-12, this year Audi Q3 bagged the “Urban Car of the year award” and “SUV of the year” by BBC Top Gear and NDTV Car and Bike respectively. Audi TT also won the “Most improved car of the year” by BBC Top Gear.

 “This year we expanded our horizon in marketing and ventured into new areas with music video, strong brand channels, booking parties at our showrooms and big-scale customer drive events like Audi sports car experience, Audi Women’s Power Drive and R-Drive among others. This exercise helped us create a strong connect with the younger brand enthusiasts and reach out to a wider base of customers. The Q range has been a game changer for Audi in India and we had more and more people utilize the festive season in enrolling in the Q life by buying and gifting it,” Perschke added.

Audi continues to be the market leader in the luxury SUV segment in India with AudiQ5 and Audi Q7 and with the introduction of Audi Q3 it has consolidated this leadership position. Audi is also the market leader in the sports car segment with Audi R8, Audi R8 Spyder, Audi RS5 and the Audi TT Coupe.  

“We are presently the growth drivers of the luxury car market in India and I am confident that 2013 will be more rewarding than 2012, despite the price hike. We will look forward to further strengthening our growth pillars in 2013 and have plans to open new showrooms in Lucknow, Noida, Mumbai South and Vadodara among others”,  he added.

 The Audi model range in India includes the Audi A4, Audi A6, Audi A7Sportback, Audi A8L, Audi Q3, Audi Q5, Audi Q7, Audi S4, Audi RS5 Coupé, AudiTT Coupé,       the super sports car AudiR8 and the Audi R8 Spyder available across the country: in Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Bhopal, Chandigarh, Chennai, Coimbatore, Delhi South, Delhi West, Goa, Gurgaon, Hyderabad, Indore, Jaipur, Kanpur, Kochi, Kolkata, Ludhiana, Mumbai West, Nagpur, Navi Mumbai, Pune, Raipur and Surat.