Audi India - 1st luxury brand to sell 10,000+ cars in a year

German auto major, Audi has set a new record for luxury car manufacturers in India by selling more than 10,000 cars in a calender year. In the process, it has dethroned BMW as the most popular luxury car brand in the country.

Audi managed to sell a total of 10,002 units sold between January and December, 2013, compared to 9,003 units which it sold during the same period in 2012, reflecting a growth of 11 %. The company, which sells a range of cars, including sedans, SUVs, coupes and super cars, has had presence mainly in metros and tier 1 cities. During the year, it organised customer-connect initiatives like the Q drive, R drive and Multicity drives which took it to tier 2 and tier 3 cities, thus increasing its brand awareness in the country.

Audi has received 1,340 bookings in December 2013 alone. However, due to supply constraints, it has had to delay deliveries of more than 450 to January 2014, when prices of all models have been raised. However, the company is providing price protection to its customers and will fulfil their orders at December 2013 prices as a goodwill gesture. For 2014, Audi has plans to introduce certain initiatives, focussing mainly on after-sales programmes.

Despite this impressive performance, Audi cannot afford to sit back and relax. Hot on its heels, is arch-rival, Mercedes-Benz. Selling 9,003 cars in 2013, up from 6,840 units in 2012, Mercedes-Benz sports an even more impressive growth rate of close to 32 %.

BMW India has not yet provided us with its sales figures for 2013.