Audi India plans to go local. The company has now climbed to the second position leaving behind its arc rival Mercedes-Benz. To make the competition fiercer the four rings brand plans to assemble the Q7 in India. Audi is currently working on a new assembly line which will be dedicated to the Audi products only at the Aurangabad plant in Maharashtra.
The new line will have the capacity to manufacture upto 3500 vehicle in a single shift and plans to double in a couple of years. Audi will assemble the Q7 3.0TDi variant while the 4.2 Tdi will continue to be imported. With the Audi Q7 being locally assembled the prices could see a substantial drop by atleast 5-7.5 lakhs.
The Audi Q7 SUV is currently available in three engine options:
3.0TDi quattro which is powered by a V6 2967cc diesel engine and develops a Max output of 180 Kw and a max Torque of 550Nm
4.2 TDi quattro which is powered by a V8 4134cc diesel engine and develops a Max output of 250 Kw and a whopping Torque of 800Nm
3.0 TFSi quattro which is powered by a V6 2995 petrol engine and develops a Max output of 245 Kw and a max Torque of 440Nm
The Audi Q7 is available in seven or six seater option which is loaded with all the luxury and technology one can expect in a premium luxury SUV.
Audi may have considered this step as Mercedes-Benz will also assemble the next Generation GL-Class SUV in India which is expected to be launched in 2013. By September 2012 Mercedes-Benz will start assembling the new M-Class SUV>.There has also been rumours of the next gen X5 too being assembled in India. Currently CBU attracts an import duty of 120% which makes the luxury cars very expensive hence limiting its success to a very few numbers. The assembling of luxury cars could help the premium car makers to target a larger segment of buyers.
