"Audi products are about pride of ownership"

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: start from Rs 25 lakh (A4) and go up to Rs 1.1 crore for A8. You can easily see that it is a luxury product and not everyone can easily afford these cars. As I have mentioned the number of the rich in the country is big and they are becoming more passionate about luxury goods in general and for luxury cars in particular. Our customers know what luxury is all about. Our products are not just functional; they are about pride of ownership.

What is your sales target in India?

For this year we have set a target of roughly 1,000 cars and for 2010 our target is 3,000 cars. Mind you, the cars are produced in India, in Aurangabad. We have started production of the A6 last year and by the end of this year we will start with the production of the upcoming A4 model, which will cost Rs 29 lakh onwards—a pretty attractive product, which we have already presented at the Auto Expo this year in Delhi. The car will hit the Indian roads middle of this year and will be manufactured in India by the end of this year.

How do you plan to advertise and communicate (your brand) in India? How much emphasis is being given to R&D?

For luxury goods one has to be very careful about what you do with the communication. For us it will be a targeted and focused communication. We don’t want to cover the whole country with our advertising. We will focus on our target group through highly sophisticated magazines. However, since we are new brand in the country, we have to improve awareness and announce that Audi is a successful player in the game. It’s always a task to find a balance between creating awareness and keeping a high profile. As a luxury brand you have to build up the image very carefully and treat it right.