On his second-last day in charge of Audi operations in India, Michael Perschke launched an entry-level variant of their small Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) the Q3 badged the Q3s.
This variant, which will have a slightly detuned engine as well as a manual transmission, lack Audi's signature lED lights and not feature Audi's signature 'Quatrro' four-wheel drive system will cost Rs 24.99 lakh, ex-showroom Delhi. This is being seen as an attempt by Audi to compete with Mercedes-Benz's new A-Class and B-Class as well as the expected BMW 1-series.
Perschke, whose three-year tenure comes to an end, has overseen a remarkable period of growth for the luxury carmaker, which is part of the Volkswagen Group. Sales reached 9500 vehicles last year and Audi has targeted 20 per cent sales growth in 2013 with a sales target of 10800 vehicles. "There are a lot of young, aspirational Indians and the recent competition in the luxury car market has been great for consumers. They are getting cars with the latest technology and great deals on those cars."
However, Perschke did signal a warning with the falling Rupee. "It remains to be seen how long we can hold on to our prices. There have been slight price increases but we offset their impact with better finance deals. However, if the rupee keeps falling, there might be a sales impact for all auto manufacturers."
He did believe that the Indian luxury market will continue to grow and the percentage of luxury cars as a segment of the market will grow higher. "Right now, luxury cars just account for 1.5 per cent of the market. In China, Audi alone already sells over 300,000 cars annually and luxury is over 11 per cent of sales. Those numbers are a long way away in India."Perschke is expected to take over in the Global Sales department at Audi's headquarters at Ingolstadt, Germany.