Audi plans to open 15 dealerships by 2009

Luxury car-maker Audi plans to reach all the big cities in India by the year 2009.

Audi is also gearing up to expand the range of its offerings in India by assembling the A4 model in its Aurangabad (Maharashtra) manufacturing facility in addition to the A6 it makes there at present.

"The demand for luxury cars in India is rising and we are preparing to address it by opening more dealerships and a wider service network," Benoit Tiers, managing director, Audi India, said.

Tiers said the company's sales had grown 60 per cent in 2007 as compared with the previous year, though the production still lags behind the demand.

Tiers recently inaugurated the company's showroom in Pune. This is the company's sixth showroom in India after Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Gurgaon and Delhi.

Tiers said Audi would have 10 -12 showrooms in India by end 2008, going up to 15 by 2009. "That's when we would have a large enough base to serve the India market," he said.

Audi has invested 20 million euro at the Aurangabad facility of Group company Skoda, where it makes the Audi A6, its maiden Indian product.

The company is in the process of investing another 10 million euro for making A4 model, which will be introduced by the middle of this year.

The A4 may have to be initially sold as fully built unit, though it would be sold at the price of a vehicle assembled from completely knocked down kits, he said.

Kapil Pashankar, managing director of the Pune dealership Pashankar Auto said he expected to sell around 120 units in the current year. Models including A6, A8, A4, Q7 and sports car Audi TT would be available in at the showroom.

Tiers said the company had projected sales of 1,000 cars in 2008, which is over 60 per cent growth year-on-year, though the company considers 2009 as the first year when it will be ready and able to realise its full market potential.