Audi, the German luxury auto manufacturer, on Tuesday said that it expects its domestic sales to surge by around 39 per cent to 2,300 units in 2010. The auto maker, expects to sell more cars in India by 2025 than it does in Japan.
The company, which sold 15,000 units in Japan while 1,658 units in India in 2009, grew 58 per cent in 2009 in terms of domestic sales.
"There is a lot of potential in Indian market and we would continue to invest here and explore the business opportunities. We expect to sell more Audis in India than in Japan by 2025 at around 20,000 units annually," Audi AG member of board of management Peter Schwarzenbauer told.
He also said that the company has witnessed a record year in China in 2009, with sales of 1.5 lakh vehicles, even though the year has been tough for the global auto industry.
On the other hand, Mr Benoit Tiers, MD, Audi India said "For the second year in succession, we have not only achieved but exceeded our projected sales targets in difficult market conditions. Consistent sales growth and larger market presence are constructive steps in our endeavour to become the premier luxury brand in the country,".
The Volkswagen Group company has so far made an investment of Rs 210 crore in the country. The company at the auto expo started this week announced the launch of a limited edition A6 2.7 TDI apart from a new variant of the Q7 4.2 TDI, which will be the most powerful diesel SUV in the market.
"We made a commitment of introducing one new car every six months and we also made a commitment to producing them in India. While the A6 and A4 are already assembled here, the Q5 will start being assembled from this year," said Mr Tiers.
Besides this, Audi also unveiled the five-door Sportback Concept car, which is powered by a 3-litre V6 TDI clean diesel engine and while being able to travel 100 km with 5.9 litres of diesel, it also can reach a top speed of about 245 km per hour. As per the company officials, the car will be in India soon after its global launch.
Audi at present assembles sedan A4 as well as A6 at the facility of its group company Skoda in Aurangabad and from this year onwards, the assembling of SUV Q5 will be done at Aurangabad plant, Audi India MD Benoit Tiers said.
"We have a whole range of models from A1 to A8, which can be brought anytime in India if there is a demand," Schwarzenbauer said.
Audi is expecting to sell 40 per cent more units to 2,300 units this year as compared to last year.