Audi Halts New Spending in India as Sales Stall
Audi AG says it is suspending further investment in India until local sales volumes improve, The Economic Times reports.
#economics
Audi AG says it is suspending further investment in India until local sales volumes improve, The Economic Times reports.
Rahil Ansari, who heads Audi India, tells the newspaper that the brand sold fewer than 6,500 vehicles in India last year. He says further spending isn’t likely until Audi can rebuild its annual volume to 10,000 units. That goal appears unrealistic until customer sentiment and taxes improve, he concedes.
Ansari points to another sales hurdle: the cost of meeting India’s new BS VI emission standards, which will be passed along to buyers.
He predicts Audi sales will improve during the second half of 2019 with the help of a new sales outlet in Gurgaon, one of Audi’s largest markets in India. He also expects a boost from the 10 new models and variants that Audi is introducing in India this year.
Even so, Ansari predicts that full-year Audi sales in India will do no better than match last year’s volume.
RELATED CONTENT
-
On The German Auto Industry
A look at several things that are going on in the German auto industry—from new vehicles to stamping to building electric vehicles.
-
Porsche Doubles EV Target for 2025
Porsche AG says about half the vehicles it sells by 2025 will be equipped with hybrid or all-electric powertrains, twice the ratio it forecast four weeks ago.
-
China and U.S. OEMs
When Ford announced its 3rd quarter earning on October 24, the official announcement said, in part, “Company revenue was up 3 percent year over year, with net income and company adjusted EBIT both down year over year, primarily driven by continued challenges in China.” The previous day, perhaps as a preemptive move to answer the question “If things are going poorly in China, what are you doing about it?, Ford announced that it was establishing Ford China as a stand-alone business unit.