The Pioneer speaks with Audi India’s Managing Director Joe King about the German luxury carmakers’ plans for 2015.
Audi has been launching several niche products such as the A3 Convertible, the TT and now the RS 7. Obviously you feel that the Indian market is ready for such productsIJ
Indeed we do, take the RS 7 for example. This is a niche product meant for enthusiasts who love driving; but we sold 25 of the 2014 edition of the RS7, very impressive for a car that costs in excess of a crore. So sure, I believe that there is a market for such exclusive products.
What about the Indian market, economic growth has been slow this year, below expectations some argue. Are your sales indicative of thatIJ
Obviously for the market and Audi to grow at the 20-30 per cent annual rate that the company grew at in the past few years is not on the cards this year. But that said, despite economic conditions not being as strong as some expected, and I believe that was because expectations were unreasonably high, we are on track to have yet another great year of sales. Particularly with several new products in our pipeline, I think we are looking ahead to the rest of 2015.
Why are you still so confident about the Indian marketIJ
You look at the Indian market, and while it is not the same size as China you also realize that India has among the highest number of wealthy individuals who do not own a luxury car. I believe the Indian market will continue to grow at a healthy pace for the next few years and Audi will continue to be the leader.
Is that because of deeper market penetrationIJ
Yes, that is indeed part of the reason. We have recently opened showrooms in Ranchi and Madurai because we feel that there is immense untapped potential in these smaller cities. But also that the full potential of India’s larger cities has not been fully tapped, so we also opened our third showroom in Bengaluru for example. And we will continue our network expansion across India.
Can you explain Audi’s new nomenclature for the engines on productsIJ Earlier Audi simply had engine size marked, but now Audi uses a number.
Well, the simple fact behind this is that we were in a situation where the same engine size produced different levels of power. Whereas this is not a problem so much in India where the same engine does not produce different amounts of power on the same car, in many other markets where we offer multiple engine and power options, it was very confusing. So now, the new nomenclature basically means the higher the number, the more the power. So the 40TFSI is obviously more powerful than a 35TDI on the A3, although they are different engines, but you get the picture.