Audi India launched both the A8L and Q8 models earlier this year. The company has now exclusively confirmed to Express Drives that the first batch of both models has been sold out. These cars are brought in through the CBU route and are available only in petrol guise. Audi says that to book one of these cars, one doesn’t need to visit the showroom. Instead, the sales representative will come to your home or office and by Augmented Reality as well as Virtual Reality devices, help make a selection. A majority of the customers want their cars customised and hence its easier taking the AR or VR routes. Once finalised, the cars will be delivered to the customers within three months.
A few deliveries of these cars though are yet to be made. It is understood that the ongoing pandemic has wreaked havoc on the delivery schedules. If you’re interested in the Audi Q8 or A8L, wait till the lockdown comes to an end. Audi India might just open bookings for the next batch.
As for the no-diesel strategy that Audi India has adopted with its products, it seems to be working. Audi India head, Balbir Singh, told Express Drives that with the launch of the new Audi A6 in October 2019, the company started its petrol strategy for the regulation of BS-VI models. It continued with the launch of the Audi Q8 and the Audi A8 L. The Audi A6 has received a very good response and the first batch of both, the Audi A8 L and Audi Q8 have also been allocated to customer orders.
The current Audi India 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 Audi India moves forward. This being said, Audi India has not given up on diesel engines entirely and are evaluating this further.
