Mumbai, 7 January, 2014: Audi, the leading luxury carmaker in India expects the growth in the luxury car market in 2014 to be similar to that of 2013. In 2013, the luxury car market is estimated to have crossed the 30,000 mark for the first time, with Audi accounting for a third.
In 2013, the luxury market accounted for 25,000 units so the 2013 estimate is a 20 percent jump. However, the growth is expected only after the Lok Sabha polls expected in April-May 2014. “We’ll probably that after the elections when the shackles are freed a little bit,” says Joe King, head – Audi India. King, who took over at the helm of Audi four months ago, also expressed optimism that Audi will increase market share with “sustainable profitable growth”.
Audi India ended 2013 as the largest selling luxury brand with sales of 10002 units. While the performance in the market place is key, King said he is happy that Audi has managed to build a strong connect with consumers of social networking site, Facebook. Audi India has a ‘fan’ base of 3.2 million people. This makes Audi India second only to Audi USA, in terms of ‘fans’.
Addressing his first press conference as head of Audi India, King launched the Audi RS7 Sportback which is priced at Rs 1.28 crore (ex-showroom, Mumbai).