The German luxury car manufacturer, Audi AG announced opening of its showroom, Audi Delhi West, at Naraina Vihar. This will be the third showroom of the brand with the four rings in the National Capital Region. The inauguration of the third showroom was complemented with the launch of the design icon Audi TT. This design icon will attract customers due to its greater sporty elegance, extra refinement and dynamic appearance, among other attributes. The company also has plans of opening a state-of-the-art facility at Shivaji Marg in the next month, May 2012.
The inauguration of the world-class Audi Delhi West showroom was done by Mr. Michael Perschke, Head, Audi India and Mr. Tarun Kapoor, Managing Director, Audi Delhi West (Sterling Vehicle & General Sales Pvt. Ltd). At the opening, Mr. Michael Perschke said “The launch of Audi Delhi West showroom amplifies our presence in one of the key markets for luxury cars and provides us with an opportunity to capitalise on the growing demand for luxury automobiles in the region. The opening of a new showroom and workshop in Delhi West reiterates our commitment to offer our customers an unparalleled luxury experience of class defining products and world-class services that truly reflect our core brand values of progressiveness, sophistication and sportiness. We are happy to be associated with Sterling Vehicles for their deep automotive market understanding and wide portfolio.”
Audi Delhi West spreads over an area of around 9,300 sq. ft., with the exteriors boasting a honeycomb aluminium facade. The spacious display area of the showroom can accommodate 9 Audi models. The entire model range of Audi cars available in India will be displayed at this showroom including the newly launched, high performance sports coupe Audi TT. Equipped with powerful and highly efficient 2.0 TFSI petrol engine, Audi TT will cost around INR 49,48,000 (ex-showroom Delhi). This appealing and efficient sports coupe will be available at all the dealerships from June 2012.
Besides, the Audi Shop and Audi Exclusive elements will give luxury car buyers the opportunity to order customised products and purchase a range of Audi branded merchandise. Moreover, the customers will be acquainted with Audi’s global retail experience standards, offered by the showroom. Furthermore, the opening of this showroom creates jobs for around 100 people.
Speaking about the association with the leading car brand, Mr. Tarun Kapoor, Managing Director, Audi Delhi West, said “It is a matter of great pride for us to be associated with Audi. At Audi Delhi West, we ensure that customers are provided with a distinct luxury experience that the brand with the four rings is known for globally. Audi's global leadership position and its unparalleled commitment to luxury is what has driven us at Sterling Vehicle & General Sales to deliver this world-class facility.”
Last year, Audi Group delivered 1,302,659 units and posted revenue of €44.1 billion, with an operating profit of €5.3 billion. This year itself, in the first quarter, between January and March, the company sold 2269 units in India. With these sales figures, the company marks a significant growth of 41 per cent over the same period last year, when it sold 1611 car. Continuing with its growth trajectory, Audi India sold 1002 cars in March 2012. This marked a growth of 47 per cent as compared to the same month last year, when the company sold 681 units. The sales figure of Audi India for the month of March 2012 is nearly same as the company’s annual sales figure of 2008, which was 1050 vehicles.
“We have already taken a prominent position in India’s luxury car market with the right product portfolio and robust dealership network across the country. I am confident that our impressive sales performance YTD coupled with the launch of Audi TT and our fast expanding dealer network will ensure that Audi maintains its position as the fastest growing luxury car brand in India. Audi’s brand pull in 2012 is supported by 22 awards for class defining products such as the A8, A7 and the A6 and this portfolio creates an attractive franchise for retail entrepreneurs, where we today can choose from the best partners of the automobile retail industry”, said Michael Perschke.
The expansion of its network is one of the three pillars of the growth strategy of the German brand. The company has plans to expand its dealership network from 17 to 25 centres by the end of this year, including 4 openings in March/April. Last month itself, the luxury car maker opened its showroom in Nagpur. In 2011, the company opened its world-class showrooms in five prominent Indian cities, namely Delhi, Chennai, Ludhiana, Surat and Indore.
Currently, Audi offers a wide range of models in the country, including Audi A4, Audi A6, Audi A7 Sportback, Audi A8L, Audi Q5, Audi Q7, Audi RS5 Coupé, Audi TT, Audi R8 Spyder and the super sports car Audi R8. These models are available at all its showrooms across India, namely Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chandigarh, Chennai, Delhi South, Delhi West, Gurgaon, Hyderabad, Indore, Jaipur, Kochi, Kolkata, Ludhiana, Mumbai West, Nagpur, Pune and Surat. Furthermore, the company plans developments in numerous other Indian cities, such as Coimbatore, Lucknow and Mumbai South.
