Audi eyes sustainable growth with better margins in India: report

• Shubham
• 20 July, 2022

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By: Shubham Ghosh

GERMAN luxury auto major Audi has said that rising individual market share in India over the past years was possible only with aggressive pricing but it has stopped focusing on discounts now and eyes sustainable growth with better margins, the Hindu BusinessLine has reported.

Alexander von Waldenburg-Dresel, director — Region Overseas, Audi, told the news publication, “The target is a holistic target…we are not chasing or hunting for rankings and sales records. We really look at the complete business case– how the brand performs, how is the customer satisfaction level and what the profitability looks like. That is how we measure success. The numbers will follow automatically.”

He said while the company has no goal in numbers, yet as the luxury market is growing in India, Audi’s numbers will grow and profitability for all parties, including the dealers, would also head north.

“The future models will contribute automatically (to growth). We have to grow and we have been growing. Last year, we grew by 101 per cent and this year by 49 per cent already (year-on-year). But, we are not chasing any particular number that we have to reach. What we are chasing is sustainable business for us and our dealers,” he said.

The first half of this calendar year has seen Audi India selling 1,765 cars compared to 1,181 units in the same period in 2021. BMW India also registered the best-ever half-yearly sales with 5,570 cars and 3,114 motorcycles sold between January and June 2022. Mercedes Benz India, on the other hand, retailed 7,573 new cars, marking a growth of 56 per cent as compared to retailing 4,587 units in January-June 2021, the BusinessLine report added.

Balbir Singh Dhillon, head, Audi India, said in the first half of 2022, around 17,000 luxury cars have been sold in the country’s domestic market, and if things go well, the market may get even better than the first half taking the total up to 37,000-38,000 units this year.

“The highest-ever the industry has done was 40,000 units in 2018, so we are getting close to that level and there is no doubt that next year we will cross 40,000 units as an industry,” he told the publication, adding that by 2030 the numbers will surely grow and so will Audi with better market share.