Audi looks at 50 pc growth; to assemble more models in India

NEW DELHI: German luxury car maker Audi today said it is looking at over 50 per cent growth in sales in both this and the next year in India, and is planning to assemble more models in the country as part of its strategy to achieve this target.

Audi will also launch a new model in the country next year, besides brining in advanced version of an existing model.

"Our target is to grow by over 50 per cent both in this year and 2010. In 2008, we sold around 1,050 units in India and this year our target is to sell 1,600 units and then continue the momentum next year," Audi India Head (Marketing) Martin Birkner told.

He said the company had a good growth so far this year but did not provide the exact figures of the number of units sold so far in 2009.

Audi is also planning to assemble more models in India from next year.

"We are looking at shifting assemble operation of at least one or two more models to India in 2010. This will give us a better advantage in the market," Birkner said, without giving further details.

Audi currently has seven models in India, of which only two -- the entry level luxury sedan A4 and the volume model A6 -- are assembled here, while the others are shipped in as completely built units.

Maruti to launch Wagon R and Alto with "K" series Engine!!!

India's largest car maker Maruti Suzuki will launch two of its best selling models -- Alto and Wagon R, with a new generation engine as it prepares to meet April 2010 deadline of stricter emission norm.

According to industry sources, the company will discontinue the old F-series engines in both Wagon R and Alto and replace them with its new K-series engine, which is Bharat Stage IV complaint.

When contacted a Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) spokesperson said, "the successful K series engines will be mounted on more models in a phased manner," without specifying details and timeline for the change in engines.

Alto is MSI's best selling model. In November last year it crossed one-million mark in domestic market, while Wagon R also accounted for a good number to its compact car sales.

The company's newer models such A-Star, Ritz and the new Estilo are powered by K-series engines, which the company claims are more fuel efficient and have lesser emission.

With 11 cities in India scheduled to move to stricter Bharat Stage (BS) IV emission norms from the current BS III by April next year, MSI has been preparing itself for the change.

It has already upgraded its mid-sized sedan SX4 to make it BS IV compatible and it will be shortly launched in the market. A similar upgradation for premium compact car Swift and entry-level sedan DZire is also on the cards but the company has decided not to upgrade its oldest model M800 to meet the new emission norms.

The company executive said that the engine would have a CO2 emission of 109 gm/km and could be further cut down, while the figures for Europe norms would require 120 gm/km in the years to come. Apart from being the most advanced green car engines in their class, the K-series engines deliver greater fuel-efficiency.