The orange Audi R8 V10 Plus streaks down the side of the runway at Taneja Aerospace and Aviation near Hosur, and drives up to the raised platform where it is to be on display for the rest of its launch event. As he steps out of it, Joe King is the image of cheerful enthusiasm, and this vibe is carried over when he sits down to chat in the nearby pavilion.
Calling the vehicle he just stepped out of a machine that was born on the racetrack and made for the road, Joe goes on to explain how a lot of cutting edge technology from supercars like the R8 eventually makes its way down the lineup to benefit other luxury car customers. “Our Quattro four-wheel drive system is an example of this, and the Virtual Cockpit from the R8 is now available on the Q7 SUV as well. This thinking is part of our DNA as a company.”
Joe agrees that the Indian market comes with its own set of challenges, one of the recent ones being the restrictions imposed on diesel-powered vehicles in some parts of the country. “We introduced the new Q7 late last year and the ruling came into effect soon after. But neither manufacturers nor customers can respond to such changes rapidly. However, we welcome the move by the Government from a policy point of view and are working towards giving our customers more options.”
According to him, issues such as fuel are secondary to plans for the future, which he believes lies in electrification. “The whole world is moving towards electric technology, and so are we,” he says, adding that India is part of the plan for Audi in terms of pushing electrification.
“Electrification and piloted driving are the technologies that will shape the future of the industry,” he says, explaining that accidents are usually a result of human error. “I was headed to a meeting in Germany when a car pulled out suddenly in front of me. My vehicle braked on its own and averted an accident. I also sat in a self-driving Audi RS7 in Barcelona, which attained serious speed and yet took every corner perfectly. So, when you have the technology available that could save lives, you’d be mad not to use it.”
