Starting from today, the Q7 is Audi’s fourth model, after the A4, A6 and Q5, that will be assembled in India. The full-size SUV will be manufactured at a newly built, 20,000 square meter (215,288 square feet) facility at the VW Group’s Skoda Auto India Private Limited (SAIPL) plant in Aurangabad.
The German carmaker also plans to build the Q3 compact crossover at the same factory from mid-2013.
The plant will roll out 1,000 Q7s annually, all of which will be sold in the Indian market. The Ingolstadt-based company has increased its deliveries in the country by 55 percent in the first 10 months of 2012 compared to the same period last year to 7,273 units, surpassing 2011’s total sales of 5,511 vehicles.
“Local production of the Q7 is part of our long-term growth strategy in India, one of the most promising auto markets in the world”, said Frank Dreves, Audi Board Member for Production.
Audi is also expanding its presence in the country by introducing 25 new dealerships by the end of the year, which will be added to the seven (in Kanpur, Goa, Navi Mumbai, Coimbatore, Delhi West, Nagpur and Bhopal) it opened in the past few months.
By Andrew Tsaousis
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