German luxury carmaker Audi is eyeing a ‘good double digit’ sales growth in 2022 in India, after doubling sales during the last year, on the back of new product launches, a senior company official said.
“The last two years needless to say were difficult for everybody, but we grew by 100% last year while the industry grew by about 40%. So, we are already seeing a positive momentum for the Audi brand in India…this year too we are anticipating a good double digit growth,” Balbir Singh Dhillon, Head of Audi India, told The Hindu.
He added that the new Audi Q7, launched on Wednesday, February 2, 2022, with an introductory price of ₹79.99 lakh onwards, will play a major role in boosting sales as it a a ‘volume model’.
The new SUV is powered by a 3.0L V6 TFSI engine with a 48V mild-hybrid system, churning out 340 hp and 500 Nm torque. With a top speed of 250 km/hr, the Audi Q7 accelerates from 0-100 km/hr in 5.9 seconds, and comes with quattro all-wheel drive, Adaptive Air Suspension and Audi Drive Select with seven drive modes.
Pointing out that the company launched nine new models in the last year, Mr. Dhillon added that the year 2022 will see the launch of high volume models, in addition to some top-end products.
The new car will be locally manufactured in India, he said, adding that about 80% of the cars sold in the country are locally produced. Other models currently manufactured in India include the Audi A4, Audi A6, Audi Q5 and Audi A7.
Talking about the luxury car market in India, Mr. Dhillion said that multiple layering of taxation on luxury cars is ‘suppressing’ the industry. “The luxury industry has been hovering around 1-1.5% of the overall car market. If you compare this with Southeast Asian countries, even in small countries this ratio is 5-6%. So to that extent there is a lot of road to cover for the country.”
“…But this is subdued primarily because of the multiple layers of taxation on all luxury cars… the highest import duty on luxury cars, the highest GST plus cess on luxury cars...and on top of that you have state tax registration… So I only hope going forward things should change. The government should be able to take some decisive steps in bringing the luxury segment at par with other automotive manufacturers,” he said.