Audi, the German luxury car manufacturer, after having witnessed 27% growth in new car sales in 2022, is eyeing high double- digit growth in 2023, a top executive said. With this, the luxury car segment in the country is expected to record highest sales ever this year, he added.
On Monday the company introduced the new Audi Q3 Sportback in India at price starting ₹51.43 lakh ex-showroom and completed the product portfolio for the year.
Audi Q3 Sportback, the top most variant of the most successful Q3, is the first compact crossover of the Audi brand in India. Audi India had earlier rolled out two other variants the premium plus and technology variant of Q3.
The response to the new Q3 variants gives us the confidence that our growth for this year will be strong double-digit. If things remain the way they are, this will be the best year for luxury car segment, says Balbir Singh Dhillon, Head of Audi India.
“The Audi Q3 has been a segment leader and we are confident that the new Audi Q3 Sportback will replicate its popularity among customers,’ said Balbir Singh Dhillon, Head of Audi India in an interview.
“The reckoning success of the Audi Q3, which we launched last year, has given us the impetus to introduce the new Audi Q3 Sportback, and we are confident of its success in the country,” he said.
“The response to the new Q3 variants gives us the confidence that our growth for this year will be strong double- digit. If things remain the way they are, this will be the best year for luxury car segment,” Mr. Dhillon said..
He said the luxury car segment crossed 40,000-unit sales in 2018 but the number went down in the next two years due to Covid.
“But last year, volumes ended at about 38,000 units. So, it has come very close to the strongest ever year. So, if things go, well, 2023 will be by far the best year in terms of sales,” he added.
He said the company’s pre-owned car business is actually is growing much faster than the new car business. Last year when the company’s new car business grew 27%, the pre- owned car business grew 62%.
“Three years back, we had only seven showrooms, now, we have 22 showrooms. This indicates the success of our pre-owned car business,” Mr. Dhillon added.
Published - February 13, 2023 10:34 pm IST
