Volkswagen group unit Audi plans to increase capacity at its Indian plant by 50%, local chief Michael Perschke said, as it plans to become the country’s biggest luxury vehicle brand.
The carmaker plans to increase capacity at its Aurangabad plant in western India to 9,000 vehicles from 6,000 by the end of 2012, Perschke told Reuters.
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Audi sold around 5,500 cars in India in 2011 and has targeted 8,000 this calendar year as it eyes passing BMW and Daimler’s Mercedes-Benz at the top of the luxury car market.
According to The Hindu, Perschke said Audi also planned to also set up a separate assembly line for the Q3 SUV, to be launched in June, and the Q7, for launch at the end of 2012.
The company claimed to have led its segment in Q1 2012 with the outgoing A4 having a 42% share and the brand number two in the luxury car market.
Perschke said: “With our impressive sales in the first quarter of 2012, we decided to launch the new A4 earlier than we had planned.”
In the first four months of 2012, the company sold over 850 A4s.
Overall, it sold 43% more cars in the first quarter of 2012 at 2,831 units. In April, it sold 562 units, 50% up year on year. Of this year’s target of 8,000, Audi expects to sell 2,500-2,800 A4s.
The new model will be sold in India with three engines – 1.8-litre petrol TFSI; two-litre diesel TDI and three-litre TDI diesel.
Perschke told The Hindu the new A4 “is not a product improvement but an upgrade. A4 is in its eighth generation and has been a volume seller for us having sold more than 10m units globally since its launch in 1972.”
Audi to continue premium-down strategy
