On dealership expansion, King said it will add about 15 percent more network, which is around 15 more from the current 61 networks spanning 35 cities through a combination of showrooms and service facilities.For both the companies 2014 and 2014-15 have been the best-ever, when the luxury car market grew just about 4 percent. King said he sees the sector clipping at about 7 percent. Against this the motown grew at 5.3 per cent in 2014-15.
In 2013, Audi sold 10,851 units, up over 8 per cent from the previous year, while Mercedes sales rose 13 per cent to 10,201 units last year.
The No. 3 player BMW India neither revealed its Q1 nor the 2014 numbers. The dealers peg its 2014 sales at around 7,000 units and the Q1 sales at around 1,500 units.
Audi, which entered the country in 2007, has been the No 1 luxury car-player in the 30,000-units per annum market since 2012, when it toppled the then No 1 player BMW India.
To consolidate its position, Audi plans to launch 10
models this year including new variants and brand new models, King said, adding that one of the new launches will be the new TT Coupe and a variant of the A3 Cabriolet. It has already launched the R8 LMX in January.
Last year, Audi had introduced the A3 sedan and A3
Cabriolet in the country.
The three German brands have been traditionally commanding nearly 90 percent of domestic luxury car market of under 30,000 units. The other major player in the sector is the Tatas-owned JLR.
The Audi model range in the country includes the A3 sedan which is its biggest grosser, the A3 Cabriolet, A4, A6, A7 Sportback, A8 L, Q3, Q5, Q7, S4, S6, RS 5 Coupe, new RS 7 Sportback, all-new TT Coupe, R8, R8 Spyder, R8 V10 Plus and the R8 LMX.
The annual capacity at its group firm-run Skoda's
Aurangabad plant for all Audi models is over 14,000 units in a one-shift operation, while Merc has just doubled its capacity to 20,000 at its Pune facility. BMW also has an installed capacity to roll out 14,000 units at its Chennai facility.
Apart from India, Audi operates in over 100 markets and has production facilities in Ingolstadt and Neckarsulm in Germany, Hungary, Belgium, Slovakia, Spain, Russia, Changchun and Foshan in China and Indonesia, and will start production
in Brazil this year and in Mexico next year.
