Audi has initiated talks with Skoda Auto to set up an assembly unit in India. The plant will be utilised to build the A4 range of luxury sedans for the Indian market.
"We have met up with Skoda Auto and its Indian management, and we are considering the option of starting our operations the way Skoda did in India," said Michael Weber, Audi's country manager for India, in an interview with Business Standard.
Skoda, which like Audi is a Volkswagen group company, opened shop in India by setting up a CKD (completely knocked down) kit operation from a disused Siemens facility near Aurangabad, Maharashtra. Skoda has already sold 20,000 cars in India.
Though Volkswagen is still reeling from the Indian scandal, Audi AG, the premium carmaker based in Ingolstadt, is going ahead with its Indian venture. Audi will be setting up eight new dealerships in the next year and will launch two brand new cars -- the A4 sedan and the Q7 SUV.
Audi already has dealerships in Mumbai and Delhi and a new one in Bangalore is getting ready.
The A4 will be competing with the Mercedes-Benz C-Class and the upcoming BMW 3 Series luxury sedans.
"We hope to have a definite price advantage when we start selling the A4 in India, and more so, since we will be competing with brands that have been around in India for more than ten years," said Weber.
The Audi A4 will come with a 1800cc turbo-charged petrol engine good enough for 163 bhp and will be priced at around Rs 25-30 lakh (Rs 2.5-3 million).
The Q7, on the other hand, is the first SUV from Audi and one that has tremendous scope in developing markets like India. "We realise the scope for Q7 for India and are looking at the option of bringing it at the earliest," Weber added.
The Q7 goes on sale in Europe and America later this year. Both cars will be on show at the forthcoming Auto Expo 2006 in Delhi. Audi currently sells the A8 super luxury sedan and the A6 executive sedan in India.
