German luxury car maker Audi has started local production of luxury sports utility vehicle (SUV) Q7 at its plant in Aurangabad in the country. The company plans to produce 1,000 units annually in the Indian market.
The Q7 is the fourth model to be built in India after Audi A4, A6 and Q5. Mid 2013, Audi would also start assembling the recently launched compact SUV Q3.
"Local production of Audi Q7 is part of our long-term growth strategy in India, one of the most promising auto markets in the world," said Frank Dreves, Audi board member for production.
Dreves said a good plant infrastructure, efficient working processes, a qualified workforce and a well-developed logistics environment along with the surging growth of the Indian market were the factors which motivated Audi Group to expand operations at the Aurangabad plant.
"This would reduce the waiting time for the customers besides enabling us offer a wider range of versions in the Indian market," explained Michael Perschke, Audi India head. He added that the growing demand for Audi Q3, Q5, Q7 SUV models has had a major impact on the brand's growth in India.
"During the first ten months of this year, we increased sales in the Indian market by 55 percent to 7,273 vehicles, surpassing its last year's record sales of 5,511 cars," informed Perschke. Audi currently sells A4, A6, A7 Sportback, A8L, Q3, Q5, Q7, S4, RS5 Coupe and TT Coupe and supercars Audi R8 and R8 Spyder.
