Audi weighs options on small car launch in India

With competitors like BMW and Mercedes-Benz already announcing plans to launch their small cars in India, German luxury car maker Audi, owned by Volkswagen, is weighing various options, including rolling out its compact hatchback A1, to join the line-up.

“There is definitely a huge market in India for such cars (compact). But the important question will always be what car and at what price or targeting which segment. Our customers in India are very demanding and want the latest. We are evaluating what the potential is, going forward,” Anil Reddi, head (sales), Audi India, told mediapersons here on Friday. He, however, declined to draw any time line for the proposed roll-out.

Launching Audi A7 Sportback, a luxury sedan with a price tag of over Rs 65 lakh here, Reddi said the company was gearing up to launch a brand new version of its existing A6 model in India in the fourth quarter of the 2011 calendar.

“The current model is priced at Rs 38 lakh. It is too early to disclose the price of the proposed new variant,” he added.