German carmaker Audi has started assembly of its Q5 model at its Aurangabad plant. In the future, up to 1,500 units annually of the Q5 will roll out from the assembly line. The sports utility vehicle (SUV) is the third Audi model after the A4 and A6 to be produced in India, increasing the production volume of the company in India this year to more than 2,400 units, compared with 732 vehicles in the preceding year. Altogether, Audi has produced around 2,000 cars in India since the start of production in September 2007. By 2015 up to 6,000 units will be rolling off the line each year.
“The production of the Q5 is part of our long-term growth strategy in India,” said Audi Board Member for Production Frank Dreves. “The Indian market for automobiles will grow rapidly, and the Q5 is the right automobile at the right time,” he said.
Final assembly of the Audi Q5 takes place in five work cycles on two assembly lines alongside the A4 and A6 at the Volkswagen Group's Aurangabad plant.
Last year also saw Audi expanded its line-up of engines for the models produced at the Aurangabad site and newer engines are to follow soon.
In addition to the locally produced Q5, A4 and A6 models, Audi offers its Indian customers the Audi A8, Q7 and TT, as well as the R8 supercar.
The company has continued its good performance in India recording half-yearly sales of 1400 cars — the highest ever in India and a growth of 71 per cent.
For the second quarter (April-June 2010), Audi India sold 622 cars growing 42 per cent.
Its sales in June stood at 233 cars, up 14 per cent over June 2009 sales.
“This is the beginning of what we believe will be Audi's most successful year in India to date,'' Audi India Head Michael Perschke said.
The entire Audi model range is available across the country in 13 cities. Further dealerships are likely in South Mumbai, Lucknow, Coimbatore, Surat and Indore. Audi employs around 58,000 people worldwide, including 45,500 in Germany. Between 2010 and 2012 the Audi Group is planning to invest around euro 5.5 billion, mainly in new products to sustain the company's technological lead.
By 2015, Audi plans to increase the number of models in its portfolio to 42.
