Audi India is considering local production of a battery electric vehicle and plans to expand its presence in tier-II and tier-III cities as it seeks to double its share of India’s luxury-car market to 15-16 per cent over the next three to five years, a senior company executive said.
Audi India Brand Director Balbir Singh Dhillon said the company expects to decide on local production of an electric car within the next couple of months. The proposal would add a locally made battery electric vehicle to the company’s India strategy, although Audi has not disclosed the model, investment size, production location or proposed manufacturing timeline.
The company’s plan is built around customer centricity, new product introductions and network expansion, Dhillon said in an interview with PTI. Audi currently has about 8 per cent of India’s luxury-car market, and the company is targeting a doubling of that share over the next three to five years.
Audi expects the proposed India-EU free trade agreement to support the introduction of more imported models at potentially lower import duties. Dhillon said the company could use these vehicles to test demand in India before deciding whether particular models should be manufactured locally.
The approach would allow Audi to expand its product range without immediately committing every model to domestic production. Dhillon said the company would continue to depend on local manufacturing for its core portfolio, while imports could help it assess demand for additional vehicles.
The proposed trade agreement could also create export opportunities for the wider Indian automotive industry, according to Dhillon. He said the agreement could open 95 per cent of markets on both sides, though the interview did not specify which Indian-made vehicles or components could be exported through Audi’s wider ecosystem.
Audi’s planned dealership expansion is expected to focus largely on smaller cities. The company intends to enter new towns and convert some existing facilities into new-car showrooms, with most of the network development planned for tier-II and tier-III cities over the next year.
The move reflects the growing importance of geographic access in India’s premium-vehicle market. For customers outside the largest metropolitan areas, dealership availability affects not only vehicle sales but also servicing, maintenance and access to electric-vehicle support. Audi has not provided a city-wise expansion list, investment figure or target for the number of new facilities.
The company’s next stated milestone is a decision on whether to manufacture a battery electric vehicle locally, expected within the next couple of months. Its proposed network expansion and use of imported models to test demand will determine how quickly the strategy moves beyond the largest urban markets.
