German luxury car manufacturer Audi India is eyeing to clock high double-digit growth in the current calendar year, a top company executive told Mobility Outlook.
New launches, positive consumer sentiment, and revival in economic activity are one of the reasons which will boost sales.
In an exclusive interaction, Balbir Singh Dhillon, Head, Audi India, said, 'We are looking at high double-digit growth this year. I say this with a little bit of caution as I hope there is no more third-wave. So, keeping that aside, we are on track.'
He explained that the luxury car market has grown by 50% in the first seven months of this calendar year despite two months of disruptive operations in April and May. In this view, there is a positive demand in the market, and going forward, the upcoming festive season will further boost the demand.
Among the German carmakers, Audi India had far fewer products to offer than its rivals. But to counter this, the carmaker has been aggressively bringing new refreshed products to its stable.
So far, the company has launched Audi RSQ8, Audi Q8, Audi A4, Audi Q2, Audi A8L, Audi RS5 Sportback, Audi S5 Sportback, Audi RS7 Sportback and Audi eTron range in the last 18 months.
Dhillon said we are yet to cover 20-30% of the luxury car market from the product portfolio point of view. However, we are continuously working towards it as a plan to produce more relevant products for India. However, he asserted that 'the Indian taxation structure is such that it has a layering effect due to which it hinders our plans to bring new and existing products.'
'Our customers travel around the world. They are very well aware of the products and their prices abroad. We try our best to bring as many cars as possible. But they have to make business sense in India; because we also have been the partners who invest and take care of our customers at the end of the day. But a little more openness from the government to give us some room to play will help us grow in India because we have invested heavily into the country. And we also need to see certain numbers coming back to us,' he added.
In India, the luxury car market accounts for just 1% of the total car market, which is very little compared to the 5-6% share in similar South East Asian countries.
Bullish on EV sales
Audi India, which recently launched an electric SUVs e-Tron range, is bullish about its EV segment sales as it sees 15% of its sales coming from EVs by 2025.
Dhillon said there is a positive notion around EVs as there is no registration cost, and GST is 5%. The luxury carmaker has globally announced that it will bring as many as 30 new products in the EV segment.
Out of them, 20 will be pure electric cars. All of these will be launched by 2025. The Indian subsidiary is also planning to bring another electric car this year itself.