The Volkswagen Group company expects to score a sales revival next year backed by better availability of models, Balbir Singh Dhillon, head, Audi India told ET.
Dhillon noted that the Indian luxury car market is expected to grow to record more than 50,000 units this calendar year. The Indian luxury car market has the presence of BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Jaguar Land Rover, among others.
“We have seen a decline because of non-availability of parts and models which came on the back of geopolitical issues. Since it is difficult to capture the loss we had, this year, we will decline. I hope that will improve, with the supply chain getting better,” he said. Sales of luxury cars in India advanced 5% in the first nine months of this year and is poised to breach last year’s record, said Dhillon. An estimated 46,000 to 48,000 luxury cars were sold in India last year.
Audi, the third largest luxury carmaker in India, introduced the new generation Q7 SUV-its flagship model-on Thursday at a starting price of ₹88,66,000. Dhillon said about 35% of existing Q7 owners choose to repurchase the model. The company sold 10,000 units of the Q7 in the last 15 years in India.
To be sure, Audi India’s sales forecast is in sharp contrast to its German peers who posted strong double-digit growth in the first half of 2024 and made bullish sales growth projections for the full year.Sales at Audi India, however, fell 27% during the period due to the supply chain related issues.Audi is likely to end the year with an estimated 16% sales drop, according to S&P Global Mobility. Puneet Gupta, director at the sales and forecasting firm, pointed out that there is more to the sharp decline than just supply chain issues.
“They made a strong comeback in 2023 with sales rising to the highest in six years with 7,700 units. However, a sales push last year led to an inventory pileup at its channels. This, in turn, with slowing demand in 2024 may have prompted the headquarters to curtail allocation for the current year,” said Gupta.
Also, unlike its rivals who are a lot more aggressive with new model introduction, Audi’s slow pace of launches and an ageing model lineup is also impacting its sales, he said. Gupta expects the company to bounce back next year on the back of new models and inventory liquidation. Dhillon said Audi is not in the race for numbers.
