Audi India, last year, confirmed that they will adopt a petrol and mild-hybrid approach to all their new cars. The brand right now has the Audi A8L, Q8 as well as the A6 with a petrol-only engine. In fact, we were the first ones to report that both the CBU models – A8L and Q8 allocations for the first batch are over. The A6, according to Balbir Singh, head of Audi India, has received a fantastic response. We drove the Audi A6 and were impressed with what the car has to offer.
The Audi India website currently has only three cars listed. Balbir Singh says that [auto_blockquote title=”As India moved to Bharat Stage VI (BS-VI) norms in April 2020; with advanced planning and a focused approach, Audi India sold out all its BS-IV stock of cars. With BS-VI regulations, we have decided to revamp Audi’s entire product range in India. Therefore, all our upcoming products will either be brought to India for the first time or will be the next generation or facelift at the least; we shall be doing this in a phase-wise manner. Stay tuned to our next product announcements for an exciting future with Audi in India.”][/auto_blockquote]. He, however, refused to comment on what all-new models are coming to India or an India-specific product this year and instead chose to say, [auto_blockquote title=”We do not comment on future product planning. Having said that, we have a huge, existing global portfolio and evaluate all options from it for India. “][/auto_blockquote]
Balbir further says that the focus will be on petrol and electrification. On being asked how the petrol-only strategy is working out for the company, Balbir says, [auto_blockquote title=” With the launch of the new Audi A6 in October 2019, we started our petrol strategy for the regulation of BS-VI models. We continued it with the launch of the Audi Q8 and the Audi A8 L. The Audi A6 has received a very good response and our first batch of both, the Audi A8 L and Audi Q8 have also been allocated to customer orders. Our current share of petrol vs diesel stands at 40:60 from the earlier 10:90 split; clearly, there is a demand for petrol cars. Customer preferences are changing and this share will only rise as we move forward. This being said, we have not given up on diesel engines entirely and are evaluating this further.”][/auto_blockquote]
The plans to bring in the e-tron electric SUV are still on. Balbir elaborated that, [auto_blockquote title=”We were the first luxury car brand to reveal an electric car in India (in 2019) and are excited about the prospects of the Audi e-tron. The showcase generated tremendous excitement amongst enthusiasts and potential customer (first-movers). The launch is on the cards and we will announce the launch timeline of the same in due course. Currently, we are readying ourselves for this big initiative and preparing ourselves to manage this new technology. “][/auto_blockquote]
All said and done, 2020 looks to be an exciting year for Audi India. We are excited about their new products in our market. Are you?
