Date:21/07/2005 URL: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2005/07/21/stories/2005072102260200.htm

Back Audi plans to launch A4 model early next year

Our Bureau

Bangalore , July 20

AUDI hopes to sell 30-35 units of its `bread and butter' car A4 in the first quarter of next year, according to Mr Michael Weber, Country Manager, India, Audi AG.

A4, Audi's entry level car, which will be launched early next year in the country, will be priced in the Rs 22 lakh-24 lakh range and positioned in direct competition to the Mercedes `C' class of cars. The Audi stable in the country comprises the A6, A8 and TT Coupe and has sold 50 cars in the last four months.

Mr Weber said by the end of this calendar year, the company expects to sell 100 cars and by the end of next year, to reach a figure of 300, with 50 per cent coming from A4 sales. Though corporates, hotels and taxi operators form the chunk of its clientele, the company is tapping individuals on a one-to-one basis.

While the TT Coupe and Audi A6 petrol versions have been homologated, the A6 diesel, A4 petrol and diesel versions are in the process of getting homologated, Mr Weber said. In three years, the company will do a serious evaluation and may think of having a local assembly line, he added.

The company currently has two dealers in the country, EuroMotors in Delhi and Island City Motors in Mumbai.

Jubilant Enpro, the dealership facility at Bangalore will be opened in October to service the needs of the company's South-based clients. However, plans are on to start a dealership facility in Chennai by the end of this year, according to Mr Sanjay Malhotra, Business Head, Jubilant Enpro Pvt. Ltd.

The market seeding for brand Audi has already begun. As part of its marketing and branding efforts, the company is bringing the Audi Golf Tournament to the country this winter, Mr Malhotra said.