Buoyed by impressive sales and demand of models like the Q7 in India, German auto giant Audi has started the local production of Q7 at its plant in Aurangabad, Maharashtra. This will not only ease off some pressure as far as smooth deliveries are concerned but also prepare India as a hub for production of Audi cars. Ammar Alvi has more.
Up to 1,000 of the Q7 luxury-class SUV will be built at its Aurangabad plant in Maharashtra each year to supply the Indian market. After the Audi A4, Audi A6 and Audi Q5, the Q7 is the fourth model to be built in India by the Ingolstadt carmaker.
According to Dr Frank Dreves, Audi Board Member for Production, “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. 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.”
The Audi Q7 will be produced in a newly-constructed hall at the group plant Skoda Auto India Private Limited (SAIPL). Production of the Audi Q3 in the new Audi hall, which covers a floor area of 20,000 square metres, is also planned from
mid-2013.
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 10 months of this year, the company increased its sales in the Indian market by 55 per cent 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.