Audi expects India to be among top 10 markets

Audi India launched its new A3 sedan with price starting at Rs 30.5 lakh

German luxury car maker Audi expects India to be among its top 10 global markets within the next decade.

Currently, the country is outside of the top 20 global markets of the company.

The company, which is marking 10 years of operations in India this year, is also looking to double its overall sales of 60,000 units that it has achieved in the last decade at a much faster pace.

Audi India on Thursday launched its new A3 sedan with price starting at Rs 30.5 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi) as part of its strategy to reinforce product portfolio preparing for the next decade in India.

"For Audi India is going to be an important market in the next 10 years too. There are so much of resources in the country and we see a lot of potential for growth here," Audi India Head Rahil Ansari told PTI here.

He said India could be in the top 10 global markets for Audi within the next decade.

Ansari said as part of reinforcing the company's position in India Audi will launch ten new products in 2017.

"Next year, many more will follow, some of which are globally announced already," he said without sharing details.

When asked how soon was Audi looking to double its overall sales in India, he said: "It'll happen much faster (than ten years)."

Going ahead in future, Ansari said Audi will also focus on alternative fuel technology, including electric vehicles as it looks to bring environmentally sustainable mobility solutions in India.

Besides products, Audi India will also focus on network expansion, customer engagement activities to drive brand awareness, he added.

On the new A3, Ansari said it is even sportier than the previous one with efficient engine technology.

"This is our fifth launch of the year out of the 10 launches we have planned," Ansari said.

The new A3 sedan is available in both petrol and diesel fuel options.

The petrol version with a 1.4 litre engine is priced Rs 30.5 lakh onwards while the diesel variant powered by a 2 litre engine starts at Rs 32.3 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi).