Audi Gurgaon, India’s largest Audi Hits the 1000 Mark
Audi Gurgaon, India's largest Audi dealership has managed to achieve a stellar sales figure of 1000 units in just two and a half years. With the rising popularity of the Audi brand, it comes as no surprise that Audi Gurgaon has been able to sell 1000 vehicles since the dealership commenced operations almost two and half years ago. Incidentally the 1000th vehicle to roll out of the dealership was a top of the line Audi Q7 4.2 FSI which boasts of 350 BHP being churned out of the 4200cc V8 petrol engine. Audi Gurgaon is bullish about future prospects as the luxury car market is witnessing an increased influx. The dealership is gearing up to better this record of sorts and judging by the demand for Audi vehicles, the next two and a half years should prove to be rather successful.
With dealerships performing at such target levels, it doesn’t come as a surprise that Audi India has registered a extraordinary performance in the Indian market. The corporation has sold 2791 cars between January and November this year, which is an 80% increase over the previous year. 2011 promises to be a productive year ahead for both Audi and the numerous dealerships for there are a number of launches lined up beginning with the all new Audi A8 in January 2011, which will be followed by the launch of the new R8 featuring a V10 engine.
Audi RS4, No next generation planned
Audi has given confirmation that there will be no next-generation Audi RS4 and that the Audi RS5 is considered the successor. Car and Driver’s German correspondent delivered some bad news to enthusiasts with the revelation that the Audi RS4 won’t get a “direct successor” because the RS5 is enough for all-wheel drive performance junkies. How the Audi brass came to that conclusion is beyond us – a fighting four door is just as entertaining and vastly more practical than its coupe counterpart. Just ask BMW. It was smart enough to offer the E92 M3 in both sedan and coupe form.
New Audi A8 Launch Date and Prices
Autocar India Editor, Hormazd Sorabjee has posted the launch date and the ex-showroom Mumbai prices of the new Audi A8 on his twitter account. He has stated that, the car will be launched in India on the 10th of January 2011.
The first variant of the new A8 to hit Audi showrooms across the country will be powered by 4163cc engine which generates maximum power of 367 bhp with minimum torque of 445 Nm. The V8 petrol will be followed up by the 3.0 litre TDI V6 diesel producing 247 bhp of power and 550 Nm of torque.
The flagship variant of the A8 range, the 6.3 litre W12 pumping out 493 bhp of power and 625 Nm of torque will be launched in the latter part of next year.
The Ex-Showroom Mumbai prices for the new Audi A8 are:
4.2 FSI V8 Petrol – 91 lakh
3.0 TDI v6 Diesel – 76.5 lakh
The new Audi A8 will be launched in India only in the long wheelbase specification.
Audi will return with an Audi A4 to the BTTC
The Audi A4 will race in the British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) for the first time in more than a decade from 2011. Two Audi A4 will be entered in the BTCC by private 
race team Rob Austin Racing and they will be built to the championship’s all-new Next Generation Touring Car (NGTC) technical regulations.
Initial testing of the A4 racer, previewed in this official rendering, will begin in March, with the team hoping to confirm drivers in January. Austin is a British Formula Three race winner and believes “that the Audi will be a race winner”.
Audi unveils its new R18 Coupe for Le Mans coming year
Audi's retribution in this year's 24 Hours Le Mans though historic, ended in subtle despair as its French rivals Peugeot completely twisted the victory tables with a clean sweep in the inaugural Intercontinental Le Mans Championship. Audi will nevertheless go into next years twenty foue Hours Le Mans Championship as defending champions for the 9th time in history, and it amazing new R18 coupe is up for the challenge. Unveiled at the Audi Sportpark in Ingolstadt, Germany on the 10th of December, Audi's latest diesel powered sports-prototype now presents a "closed" cockpit, featuring a brand new 3.7-litre V6 TDI turbocharged diesel engine.
Another new development is the six-speed transmission in the R18, which has been particularly modified for use with the smaller engine. McNish, who has won the twice-around-the-clock French race in 1998 driving a "closed" sportscar (Porsche) and previous raced one at Le Mans in 1999 (Toyota) thought the new R18 Coupe ran very well without any technical problems. The racing debut of the Audi R18 is planned for the Spa-Francorchamps (Belgium) 6 Hours on May 8. Prior to the event, the new model will be able to do its first laps on the race track at Le Mans during the official test day on April 24 and gather important data for the race on June 11-12. Audi is scheduling to field three Audi R18 cars at Le Mans next June, which will also be entered by Audi Sport Team Joest at the opening ILMC race at Sebring on March 19 2011.
November sales of Audi India rise to 153 percent
On Friday German comfort car manufacturers, the subsidiary of Audi India marked 153% increase in its sales during November month 256 cars against 101 in the same period last year. 'We attribute this achievement to our customers as well as our business partners who truly appreciate our luxurious sporty design and progressive wounding edge technology,' said Audi India head Michael Perschke. The Audi Cars sales during January-November exceeded 80 percent and stood at 2,791 cars from 1,550 cars in the same period previous year. Audi hopes to remain on its growth graph in 2011 with its new launches and opening of new showrooms. 'We are confident that we will further this positive trend in 2011 with the opening of our new showrooms in Delhi and Chennai early next year,' Perschke said.
According to him, the product line would also be improved with the launch of flagship - the Audi A8 L and the all new super sports car Audi R8, equipped with the powerful V10 engine. 'Between January and November 2010 the Audi sold around 1,003,900 cars, beating the sales figures of the earlier best year in the company's history (1,003,469 cars in 200'),' the company said in a statement.'This upturn was driven by high growth rates in China and the growing success in the United States. Audi continues to hold its No.1 position in China and Europe and retain its market leadership in the SUV segment in India,' the statement added. In terms of sales internationally the Audi Cars reported that excluding one month of the year all were its all time best growth of 15.3% which stood at over 1 million cars. Between January and November 2010 the Audi Cars sold around 1,003,900 cars, beating the sales figures of the previous best year in the company's history (1,003,469 cars in 200'),' the company said in a statement. At present Audi India offers a range of models in which includes Audi A4, Audi A6, Audi Q5, Audi Q7, Audi TT and the super sports car Audi R8.
Audi A7 Sportback Spotted in India
These are the first pictures of the soon to be launched Audi A7 Sportback, spotted on Indian soil being driven towards Pune on a test. Obviously Audi did not want anyone to notice it and hence the car had no model badge or logos on the wheels. The tailpipes suggest that it is a diesel version, probably a 3.0-litre V6. As soon as the Audi’s drive took notice of our company, he tried to lose us, a sure give away. The front end of the Audi A7 Sportback has an aggressive stance with the single frame Audi family grill styling incorporated with striking LED Headlamps. The design overall resembles the flagship Audi A8 sedan but has a distinctive for door coupe styling. The interior is loaded with acres of leather, wood and brushed aluminum combo with a pop-up navigation system screen. The cockpit of A7 resembles the larger A8 but there are some styling differences to help make it unique.
The A7 Sportback is designed to fill a niche between the Audi A6 and Audi A8. It offers big-car interior packaging for four people, the practicality of a rear hatch, a sizeable boot and what Audi calls a ‘four-door coupé’ shape. The Audi A7 is 4.97m long and 1.91m wide, which is 17cm shorter and 4cm narrower than the Audi A8 saloon. This car does away without the A8’s aluminum space frame, but Audi has made extensive use of the metal in its body, including the doors, bonnet, hatch, front bulkhead and a cross member in the boot. In two-wheel-drive form the A7 has a kerb weight of 1695kg. That’s over 100kg lighter than the car’s most obvious rival, the Mercedes CLS350 CDI.
New Audi A6 Unveiled
Audi’s all-new A6, on show for the 1st time in these official images, will ape its Audi A8 big brother in more ways than one when it hits showrooms next year. Proclaimed by Audi as “the most successful executive saloon in the world”, the last Audi A6 has outsold both BMW’s 5-series and Mercedes’ E-class globally. However, its worldwide lead is, in no small part, attributable to sales of Audi’s locally assembled long-wheelbase Audi A6 in China. Even launching into a market in which both the 5-series and E-class are performing beyond expectations, Audi India will be hoping that the new Audi A6 can consistently top its segment in the US, Germany and the UK — something that was beyond the previous model.
Bucking the trend for incrementally expanding replacements, the new Audi A6 is slightly shorter than the outgoing car, with a lower roofline. It is, however, wider than its immediate forebear and, courtesy of Audi’s MLP platform, has a shorter front overhang and longer overall wheelbase than the last Audi A6. This makes for greater legroom and shoulder room throughout the cabin, as well as a more optimal weight distribution. Although it is fitted with more electronic sub-systems as standard, Audi’s new A6 is 80kg lighter than its antecedent, model for model. Wider use of aluminum in the hybrid aluminum/steel superstructure means that the new car’s body-in-white is now 20% aluminum and weighs 15% less than it would if constructed exclusively from mild steel. The car’s doors, wings, bonnet, bootlid and bumpers are also aluminum.
There will be 4 engines to choose from when the car goes on sale and there could be as many as 5 more in the pipeline. The launch offering will start with a 175bhp, 2.0-litre TDI — which will likely be the volume seller. Equipped with a 6 speed manual gearbox; there will also be a 3.0-litre TDI on offer in some markets. The higher-output diesel will get Quattro 4 wheel drive and Audi’s seven-speed S-Tronic double clutch gearbox. This 4th generation Audi A6 breaks the mould by being launched without 8 cylinder petrol engine. Although other markets will be offered a 202bhp 2.8-litre normally aspirated V6 FSI as well and 3.0 TFSI with 298bhp, quattro four-wheel drive and a 7 speed twin-clutch gearbox. Optional S-Line suspension honed by Quattro GmbH and a sports styling kit will give owners the opportunity to add some dynamism to the flagship Audi A6. However, a faster V8-powered S6 will be along later.
For those more impressed by economy, a hybrid petrol-electric Audi new A6 will be launched in 2012, using a powertrain adapted from that of the Audi Q5 hybrid. Several measures have combined to make the Audi new A6 up to 19% more fuel-efficient than the outgoing model. A drag coefficient of just 0.26 minimizes both aerodynamic resistance and wind noise. Audi new A6 features engine stop-start as standard, as well as all of the economy-boosting technologies that Audi collects under its ‘recuperation’ banner.
Twin-clutch gearboxes have replaced less efficient torque converter autos on the higher-powered models. This Audi A6 is also only the 2nd longitudinally engined Audi, after the A7, to get more efficient, completely electric power-assisted steering. Lightweight aluminum chassis arms form part of the Audi new A6’s suspension, which consists of a 5 arm double wishbone-like arrangement up front and more conventional trapezoidal multi-links at the back. Steel springs come as standard and are available in the incrementally stiffer tunes of standard, Sport and S-Line. Air springs are available as an option. Audi will also fit a new mode Audi Drive Select system on the new A6, with which drivers can tailor the power steering assistance, throttle response and drivetrain settings to suit their tastes. The Comfort, Auto, Individual and Dynamic modes will be familiar to current Audi A8 owners, while a new Efficiency mode sets up all of the A6’s adaptable systems for optimum economy. Expect the all Audi new A6 to be launched in India shortly after its global unveiling sometime in April next year.
{Source: Autocarindia}
Plans of Audi For Indian Market
After a slew of launches by Mercedes Benz and BMW in india, Audi is all set to launch new vehicles in 2011. By the end of this year, It is expected that total sales of Audi will be around 2,700 cars which is about 50% up in comparison to last year’s 1,800 units. The Audi A4, A6 and Q5 SUV are being assembled in Aurangabad and doesn’t look to add the Audi Q7 anytime soon.
With the product about to go through a model change in 2-3 years’ time, it doesn’t make economic sense for Audi to assemble the current model here. Audi Q3, slated for launch next year in Europe is certainly on the cards for India and as Konsbruck says, assembly of the vehicle is a high possibility. Audi will launch the q3 in india after closely watching BMW’s X1 price and positioning strategy. Audi India has also confirmed that they will be launching the A7 sportback in india by the first half of next year.
Audi Sales Up In September
In September 2010 Audi India has recorded growth of 47%. They have sold 302 cars last month as against 205 cars in the same month in 2009. In the January to September 2010 period, the auto major has sold around 2200 cars which is 63% more from the year ago period of around 1300 cars. The much-awaited Audi A8 LWB would be launched by year the end. Audi recently added a new engine variant-the 3.0 TFSI to our extremely successful SUV-Audi Q7. In india Audi is selling 6 models - Audi A4, Audi A6, Audi Q5, Audi Q7, Audi TT and the super sports car Audi R8.