Audi is targeting to sell 25,000 to 30,000 cars in the Indian market by 2020. That is expected to put India amongst the top 10 markets for Audi worldwide. In the meanwhile, after clocking a growth rate of more than 80 per cent in India last year, the German luxury brand is hoping to close 2011 with sales of about 4,500 cars, a growth of nearly 50 per cent.

Speaking with visiting Indian journalists at Audi's annual press conferencehere on Tuesday, Mr Peter Schwarzenbauer, Member of the Board of Management of Audi AG for Marketing and Sales, said that the India growth story is very different from the China story. While China has been a top-down sales trend, the Indian market is a reverse trend. It has taken 22 years for us to be able to sell one million cars in China, so it is a step-by-step process, he said. As an interim target, Audi hopes to sell 15,000 cars in India by 2015.

Huge potential

Reconfirming the strong belief that Audi AG has in the Indian market, Mr Rupert Stadler, Chairman of the Board of Management, said that there is huge potential in markets such as India and Brazil.

We are responding to the growth in markets like this by adopting a global outlook and not simply by concentrating on individual major markets.

In addition to its current portfolio of cars, some of the other vehicles that are likely to help bolster Audi`s sales will be the new A6 and the A7 Sportback - two cars that will be launched later this year.

Talking about the other cars that are being considered and are currently being analysed for their potential, Mr Schwarzenbauer said that the sub-compact luxury hatchback A1, the A3, which is currently a sedan concept, and the yet-to-be-launched compact sports utility vehicle Q3 are all being considered for a possible launch in India.

Also being considered are Audi`s famous RS sports versions.

R&D facilities

Talking about the potential for setting up research and development facilities in India, Mr Michael Dick, Member of the Board of Management responsible for Technical Development, said that there are no plans currently, but in the next few months some decision could be taken based on the strength of the Indian market.

Audi has announced the best financial results in its history with a total of 1.09 million vehicles being delivered in 2010, total revenues of €35.4 billion and an operating profit of €3.34 billion. This year the company is targeting total sales of over 1.2 million Audi brand cars.

Currently, Audi assembles the A4 and A6 sedans and the Q5 SUV at the VW group facility in Aurangabad.

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