Audi to launch new version of SUV Q7 in February

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New Delhi, January 4

German luxury carmaker Audi will launch the new version of SUV Q7 in India early next month as it looks to build on the momentum of a good performance last year, according to a senior company official.

Audi India had posted a two-fold jump in retail sales at 3,293 units in 2021. It had sold 1,639 units in 2020.

The growth in 2021 was on the back of a good performance by volume drivers of the brand, Q-range SUVS—Q2, Q5 and Q8, and A-sedans—A4 and A6, along with five electric cars ndash; e-tron 50, e-tron 55, e-tron Sportback 55, e-tron GT, RS e-tron GT.

"This year we will also start with the launch of flagship Q7 in the first week of February. That is how it is planned and this will also be followed by a few more products coming in the year," Audi India head Balbir Singh Dhillon told PTI.

Audi India has already started producing the new Q7 at its facility at Aurangabad in Maharashtra, he added.

In 2022, Audi India is looking to build on the good performance of last year, he said.

"Not only do we have a full year supply of the recently launched products (Q5 which was launched in November and deliveries started in December) but we will also have new products that we will launch this year. When all these products are available, I'm sure we will have a good year this year as well," he said.

With the launch of Q7, Audi India will have most of its volume drivers except for the Q3 SUV, available in the country which will help in garnering further sales, he said.

Bullish on the market, Dhillon said in 2021 Audi India witnessed almost 150 per cent growth in sales of Performance and Lifestyle Cars (PLC), which are priced Rs 1 crore upwards and accounted for 11 per cent of the total sales.

On the other hand, last month the company sold over 200 units of its entry level SUV Q2, he added.

"So I think all in all, the performance was from top to bottom, from entry level models to the top-end models...At this point in time, the market is definitely improving," Dhillon said, adding the company's steps towards customer centricity is paying off with the trust on the brand growing from strength to strength every passing year. —PTI

The Tribune