[StraightDrive20]

In India, the equity of Mercedes as a luxury car brand is more than both Audi and BMW. Its high sales numbers, even with more premium pricing, is a testimony to the same. Not eligible to vote yet, would have voted ‘No’.

[Mustang111]

My answer if I had voting rights would have been a yes. Maybe biased because there were two Audis in the family. An A4 and A3. Oh the A4 is still there. But there is one distinct aspect worth mentioning. In the 90s, it was the BMW, followed by Audi and then Merc. Audi in 2000s and 2010s felt more desirable than the equivalent Mercs and Beamers. But come the 2020s, I have to say things have changed. As on date it's Merc followed by BMW and then Audi. I think it's the more to do with the models available in our market during a period rather than a permanent factor. It's just that which of the three have the right models available. They can swap places among each other anytime. I believe all three are worthy competitors. Ecah one has it's own ups and down with time

[Annibaddh]

I was quite surprised to see that majority (by the barest of margins) have voted yes. And I concur. Mercs for whatever their styling, comfort, and tech maybe always seem to carry significant flaws (too cramped for smaller models, too pricey across the range and so on). I can’t think of anything that really would tilt me towards a Merc below the S Class which truly is without competition in its segment.

BMWs have taken leaps in covering all bases, on the other hand. Their range on offer (the incredible 340i, heck they even sell the M range), the interior quality which was a real downer in older BMWs has become refined and caught up largely. But entry level BMWs are difficult to live with say the roads in Mumbai or Bengaluru (burbies, say aye!), with the hard suspension and perversely with so much grunt on offer and nowhere to use it! And the styling (even if I personally don’t mind it) has taken an ‘interesting’ turn.

Audis I feel are great all-rounders. A4 is priced well (and such great discounts make them even juicier), A6 /Q5 offer everything that their counterparts do at a steal. And they’re great everyday drivers. Personally I love their understated styling. Interior quality is flawless. I understand the FWD and RWD perspective - but does it really make a massive difference to my daily life? No! A car is as much for everyday as it is for the having fun on the ghats. And frankly the Audis don’t fare very differently on the latter even with their limitations.

[aravindrn]

Voted No. Recently replaced my 8 year old X3 with the new X3 M Sport and test drove both the A6 and Q5 extensively. We also own a Gle 400d which is primarily used for highway drives.

Pros for Audi-
1) Solid fit and finish.
2) The 2 litre engine is pretty refined and has good linear acceleration.
3) Really timeless designs. Love the way the A6 looks.

Cons -
1) Nothing comes close to the BMW for sheer driving pleasure. The X3 is the closest SUV that comes to a sedan in terms of handling. The Q5 is good but the X3 is just awesome. Same is the case for 330 Li vs A6.
2) Compared to my earlier X3's BS4 2.0 d, the current version is extremely smooth and punchy. The sport mode transforms the vehicle. Even though BMW has removed the sports + mode, you can still tweak individual settings.
3) Found the ride quality to be a bit harsh in the Q5 and the BMW with the new Bridgestone run flats are much more comfortable. Also found the under-thigh support lacking in Q5.
4) The Audi MMI feels a bit outdated compared to the iDrive 7 in BMW. I don't personally like touch screens and hence decided to buy this X3 before BMW upgrades it with the iDrive 8.
5) I have had very good experience with BMW service over the last 8 years and regarding Audi's service in Bangalore, I have heard only mixed reviews.
6) Family members found the Q5 a bit claustrophobic due to the sloping roof design compared to the X3.
7) The ZF gearbox is also very good and it is tuned to perfection compared to the DSG in the Q5.

The final clincher was that we got a better discounts for a 2024 manufactured X3 which Audi Bangalore was not able to match.

[sunikkat]

Voted Yes. I consider Audi = Mercedes = BMW from brand and desirability perspective.
Will I buy Audi over other 2? That depends on the model. I would anytime buy Q3 over GLA/X1, but 330 over C Class / A4 / A6.

[Peri_patetic99]

Originally Posted by pqr

.

The current hierarchy in India looks something like this.

1. Range Rover = Porsche
2. Mercedes > BMW > Land Rover
3. Audi > Volvo

Personally, I'd change the list to:

1. Ferrari~Porsche>Lamborghini
2. Mercedes~BMW~Volvo
3. Audi~Range Rover>Land Rover

Other brands like Hyundai, Kia, BYD etc. I have not accounted for, although i imagine they'd come after Audi in this list.

[It's Magic]

Voted Yes.

If you ask an average Indian about luxury car brands, I am sure they will mention Audi along with Mercedes, BMW, and other luxury brands.
Of course, there would be differences across the model range, but from a brand perspective, Audi is considered as much of a luxury brand as Mercedes or BMW by the average Indian.

[Aj_thenomad]

I am not allowed to vote, but it would have been a ‘Yes’. I believe it's not only the ‘petrol-only option’, but also the poor marketing that was present for years before Mr. Dhillon took the baton.

There was a time when entire Bollywood wanted to have one (even the songs had it) and Q7 being the prized possession. Nevertheless, the brand still produces no nonsense cars, timeless design and amazing ride quality. Super happy to own one.

[navin_v8]

Voted No. (Specific to Indian Market)

As far as the Indian market is concerned people don't have the same desirability for Audi cars vis a vis Mercedes-Benz (MB) or BMW.

MB has a first mover advantage in India compared to the other two. This has made MB more recognizable, desirable with a good brand recall having loyal customers. In India products are not known by type but by name, for example: Amul means butter, Cadbury means chocolate, Surf means washing powder, Lux means bathing soap, Bata means shoes and Luxury car means (you guessed it right!) Mercedes-Benz.

New age buyers have taken to BMW and Audi but Mercedes-Benz is still the king of Luxury cars as far as India is concerned.

If I am in the market to buy a luxury Sedan (I love sedans), then it has to be something from the Mercedes-Benz lineup.

Fact: https://www.autocarindia.com/industr...acturer-428162

[316kmph]

Of course, yes!

Audi, in my opinion, is as good a brand if not better. I know that market perception is completely different which is reflected in the resale values of these car brands.

Having owned 7 Bimmers, 4 Mercs and 2 Audis, I am happier with the Audis in the long run. In fact, I have owned the Audis longer than I have the most of the BMWs or Mercs. Top of that, the Audis are my go-to cars as well. When I bought them, I never thought I would be using them this long 6.5 years (Audi S5 - everyday car) and 5.5 years (Q7 45Tdi, have owned 2 gems of X5 and used the current gen for at least 5 weeks, Q7 is so refined and comfortable) and I plan to use them for another couple of years at the least!

Guess, all that glitters is not gold!

[sh3lby]

As an enthusiast, Audi, BMW, and Mercedes have been the 3 members of the ultra-competitive 'German Trio' as long as I've known, with Mercedes offering the most opulence, BMW offering sheer driving pleasure, and Audi a mix of both.

In India, Mercedes-Benz has been king with it's early arrival in 1994, followed by BMW and Audi in 2006 & 7 respectively.
Audi was quite aggressive with its approach, quickly capitalizing on market share, getting the top spot, then getting displaced by MB in 2015.

So when I came across various posts on TBHP itself talking about the gradually slipping perception of Audi when compared to BMW and Merc, I was intrigued, because I wasn't aware of it outside this forum. So I went through those posts, and tried to understand what it is that caused such a shift in opinion.

Here are the primary reasons I've ascertained after going through the thread 'Do you consider Audi on par with BMW and Mercedes' where the outcome seems to be yes, but by a small margin.
(https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/india...cedes-bmw.html (Do you consider brand Audi to be on par with Mercedes & BMW?))

1. Discounts offered at the Dealerships: When you discount something too quickly, you immediately show that you don't have confidence in your offer. Often, discounts in the pricing give customers the impression that there must be some sacrifice in the product. Even if they can get away with selling their cars at a lower price, they should launch it at that and not launch steep and cut down on it at later stages.
That said, I feel Mercs and BMWs are getting ridiculously expensive nowadays, and Audi may be the only one who could keep them in check. GLC for the price of a Q7...what?

2. Discontinuation of its TDI models: Perhaps VAG has done its market research and feels it was the right decision, but pulling back on diesels completely makes no sense to me, especially when it still makes up for ~35% of the cars sold by MB and BMW. It doesn't take an analyst to figure out they're losing out on a lot because of this. Dieselgate notwithstanding, as a company, are they prioritizing profits or virtue-signalling?

3. Outdated ICE lineup: Audi India has a habit of bringing its fresh, globally launched a bit late. For instance, the current gen Q5 - debuted in 2018 but launched in India in late 2021. So by the time the next gen is launched in India, it will already by late by 2+ years, given things keep going at the same rate.

4. Lack of marketing: As per this post (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/india...ewspapers.html (2024 Analysis | Volume of Car Advertisements in Newspapers))wherein a BHPian tracked the newspaper ads of car companies over a span of 4 months, there was only 1 'ad' from Audi vs 8 from Merc.
Another example - the Q3 being one of the 'high-volume' products from the brand is hands-down a superior product than the X1, yet the X1 outsells it by a margin. Maybe it's the cyclic effect of brand value>not going for Audi>Sales taking a hit, but I definitely think Audi marketing is going wrong somewhere if a 135 HP car can outsell a superior product of their own.

I don't think I can comment on online ads since most ads are curated and personalized for the user, but I do see ads from Audi on my feed.

End of the day Audi is and will remain an aspirational brand for middle-clas Indians, at least in the near future - which is part of the reason we brought one home. Personally speaking - when I see an A6 or Q7 on the road, I don't think "must've been too poor for a Merc/BMW". All I know it's a sweet, expensive ride which was probably bought at a fair price.

Even on the aforementioned poll, most Audi owners who'd also owned cars from its other German counterparts reported that the product itself didn't lack in comparison, and was just as exquisite. Yet the sentiment is still there, and as a brand Audi has opportunities to fix it. There's recently been a slight price hike across its range which I think is for the same reason.

This post wasn't intended to be a detailed analysis of Audi India's sales but rather something to discuss its perception among us enthusiasts.
What do you think have contributed to the predicament Audi India is currently in, and what could they do better?

[self_driven]

Agree with most of the points you've raised. I'll add after-sales service to the list. Mercedes and BMW can run circles around Audi in this department, with their widespread dealer network and service packages respectively. No personal experience, but a lot of user accounts I've come across on this forum and elsewhere suggest the same.

Another probable reason could be their parent company, the Volkswagen Group. There was a time when Skoda/Volkswagen products offered 80% of the experience at 50% of the price. I'm not sure if this holds true now, with the likes of Jetta and Octavia extinct, but this association with Volkswagen did put me off from really liking the brand.

With that said, I still drool over the newer models whenever I come across one. Audi's design is full of elegance and class, this sophistication is what Mercedes and BMW have long lost with their "look at me" designs.

[autobahnjpr]

Voluntary decision to pull back diesels is hurting the sales. Other brands 50% sales are in diesel. When globally they are selling diesel vehicles, why not in India. Bring the diesel in Q3, A4, Q5 and A6 to start with.