( Worldcarfans ) - India's appetite for new cars is one of grotesque proportions. With car sales growth pitched at 15% over the next five years, and the luxury segment seeing the greatest rise, India is a market second only to China in its sales potential and is seen by Audi to be a vital step step towards their Strategy 2015, setting a sales target of 1.5 million global units annually. "A sporty premium brand like Audi simply cannot afford to be missing from a market of the future such as India," says Ralph Weyler, Director of Sales and Marketing at AUDI AG.
And so it is with the opening of Audi's seventh Indian dealership in 4 years that they hope to tap into this emerging luxury car market. Following the successful start of production for the Indian market in Aurangabad, India, in the New Year, the new delaership aims at offering visitors the full 'Audi experience' with 14 Audi vehicles on display. Located just outside of New Delhi, the site at Gurgaon provides Audi with its second dealership for the region - now the largest luxury car showroom in India with a floorspace of 13,684 sq.ft.
Audi will have invested some 30 million euros by 2015 in production facilities, when output is expected to reach 2,000 units. This latest investment in Gurgaon showcases Audi's products in style, importing interior elements from abroad, including that of German furniture, Japanese lighting, Austrian flooring and Italian tiling, and will be backed-up by 65 employees at the front of house and in the adjacent workshop.
A further three showrooms are on the way by the end of the year, joining the new Gurgaon site and present dealerships at New Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Chandigarh. India's Audi A6 is produced locally and will be joined by the A4 for the Indian market late this year.