Audi India to focus on North-East region
In a bid to increase sales, automobile manufacturers first each out to untapped territories. Most of mass market carmakers in India like Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai have been opening new showrooms in Tier-II and Tier-III cities as well as small towns. These companies have commented earlier that while sales in major cities are either slowing down or reaching a stagnation point, smaller cities are showing stellar growth.
Audi India is the latest manufacturer that has decided to follow suit. The luxury carmaker has revealed that it is planning to focus more on Tier-II and Tier-III cities in India, including the North-East region. In an interview with PTI, Joe King, head of Audi India, has said that the luxury car enthusiasts in the smaller cities are the ones who are converting into customers as they have big pockets.
"The North-Eastern region in India is a focus area for us, and we are looking forward to welcoming new members to the Audi family from the region. Although the base is smaller, our sales in Tier-II and Tier-III cities are growing at around 30 per cent while it is less than 10 per cent in metros," Joe King told PTI.
He revealed that last year Audi India sold 11,192 vehicles overall of which the Tier-II and Tier-III cities contributed around 20 per cent. In order to attract buyers in smaller cities, the manufacturer will be taking its mobile showroom to those places.
"Creating better accessibility to the brand by increasing geographical penetration is one of the core pillars of our strategy, and the Audi Mobile Terminal is a unique way of bringing the showroom at the customer's doorstep. We had introduced it last year and received a fantastic response," said King.
He commented that Audi India would take the AMT across 20 cities, starting from Siliguri in West Bengal over the next six months. The luxury carmaker intends to attract over 5,000 potential buyers through AMT this year. Last year the AMT had attracted over 1,200 visitors and travelled to Jodhpur, Kota, Ambala, Hisar, Muzaffarnagar, Saharanpur, Meerut, Moradabad, Aligarh, Agra and Amritsar.
