German luxury car maker, Audi, has announced a price hike across its entire range that is currently available in India. Prices of various models will see a hike in a range of 3-5 per cent with effect from 1st January, 2014. Incidentally, such an announcement is not surprising as there have been many such price hikes in recent past from other auto companies that operate in India. In an official statement, Audi mentioned that this price hike has been influenced by various economic factors that prevail in the country. The auto maker said that it has been negating the pressure on its business line. However, price hike decision had to be taken eventually in order to ensure sustenance and profitability. A few days ago, Audi's rival, BMW, too had declared a price increase by up to 10 per cent with effect from January 2014.
Joe King, Audi India Head, gave some insight into the matter in hand and reportedly said, “While Audi has exhibited strong sales performance in 2013, the overall market scenario has remained challenging. Various economic factors have put pressure on our business model and resulted in the necessity to increase our prices. Continuing our focus on the customer, we have ensured that the impact is as minimal as possible. Additionally, we are offering the customers customized and innovative finance options from Audi Finance which will make their purchase more attractive.” Currently, Audi's product range in the country includes A4, S4, A6, S6, A7 Sportback, Q3, Q3 S Q5 and Q7.
Despite tough market conditions, the luxury car maker has seen good growth in the country with respect to sales. It posted a growth of 15.4 per cent in the January-October 2013 period by selling 8393 units as compared to 7,267 units in the corresponding period in last year.
Earlier, in the month of July, 2013, Audi had gone ahead with a price increase by a margin of up to 4 per cent across its models in India. The main reason behind this was given as impact of rupee devaluation and rising input costs. At that time Michael Perschke was the head of Audi India. Speaking on the occasion, he had said, “The overall market scenario is challenging. The depreciating rupee and rise in input cost have made us re- evaluate our pricing strategy in India and increase the prices of the entire range” Mercedes Benz India Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Eberhard Kern had also expressed his concern over the weakening of the Indian currency. The fall of rupee had a dampening effect on companies who imported their products and parts in India from outside.
