Audi to launch Q8 in India in January

German luxury carmaker Audi will bring its flagship SUV Q8 in India in January next year as part of its strategy to strengthen presence in the country by 2025.

The company has already started taking orders for the vehicle from the weekend as it looks to re-enter the top end of the luxury vehicles segment.

"In the last couple of months we have been devising 'Strategy 2025' for the country. Q8 becomes a very critical part of it," Audi India Head Balbir Singh Dhillon told PTI.

"One of the pillars for us in defining Strategy 2025 is also C and D segments push. This (Q8) obviously makes a very big contribution in the D segment, where we will be present again," he added.

When asked when the new Audi Q8 will be launched, he said, "On January 15. This will be our next launch in BS-VI category of cars after we launched the A6 a couple of weeks back." The model will be sold in India through import of fully built unit.

The focus area of Strategy 2025 is customer centricity. So in line with it, Q8 will play one of the major roles, Dhillon said.

For this, "we are targeting individual experience of customers who are upward of Q7 segment, who want to configure the car to match their personality and design their own cars. It will be made for customers specifically to their desire and design".

Through the Q8, Audi is seeking to offer a combination of the elegance of a four-door luxury coup and the practical talents of a large SUV, according to the company.

Dhillon said prospective Q8 buyers are "already extremely successful people in their lives. They want something which is exclusive over and above what they already have".

The model will offer buyers the option of customizing their vehicle as per their design preference and desires.

"So, it remains quite exclusive as it will be in made-to-order kind of a segment that we will represent," Dhillon said, adding the vehicle would primarily focus on those who want to drive themselves. "Orientation of Q8 will be driver centric," he said.