The four ring German luxury car maker, Audi has begun the local assembly of the flagship SUV Q7 in India at its Aurangabad plant, in Maharashtra. This is the fourth model to be built in India by the Ingolstadt carmaker following Audi A4, A6 and Q5 SUV. By 2013 Jan, the Q3 will also join the parade.
Audi has already toppled Mercedes-Benz to claim the second spot and the number one position seems very close. In the last couple of months Audi sold more cars than BMW.
“Local production of the Audi Q7 is part of our long-term growth strategy in India, one of the most promising auto markets in the world,” declared Dr. Frank Dreves, Audi Board Member for Production. “The very good infrastructure in the plant, efficient working processes, a qualified workforce and a well developed logistics environment, along with the surging growth of the Indian market, were the factors that motivated us to expand the Aurangabad plant.”
“Local production of the Q7 means Audi India is now building a second Q model locally. That will reduce waiting times for our customers and we will be able to offer a wider range of versions in the market,” explained Michael Perschke, Head of Audi India.
Increasing demand from Indian customers for the Audi Q3, Q5 and Q7 SUV models has had a major impact on the brand’s growth in India: Over the first ten months of this year, the Company increased its sales in the Indian market by 55 percent to 7,273 automobiles. That means that Audi India has already clearly surpassed its record sales total of 5,511 cars for the whole of the previous year.
The Audi Q7 will be produced in a newly constructed hall at the group plant Škoda Auto India Private Limited (SAIPL) in Aurangabad, in the state of Maharashtra. Production of the Audi Q3 in the new Audi hall, which covers a floor area of 20,000 square meters (215,278 square feet), is also planned from mid-2013.
The company did not specify the local content used nor has announced the new prices.
