Audi launches aggressively priced A3, expands network to Tier 2, 3 cities

                                      Joe King, head of Audi India 

Audi India launched its new compact luxury sedan, the new A3 in New Delhi today, in petrol and diesel variants. The A3 is the first compact luxury sedan to be sold in India and is available in four trim levels — Attraction, Premium, Premium Plus and Technology — for the diesel model and one Premium Plus trim for the petrol.

The A3 40TFS, priced at Rs 28.95 lakh, develops 177.5bhp from its 1.8-litre TFSI direct-injection turbo-petrol motor mated to a seven-speed gearbox. Pricing for the A3 35TDI, which is powered by a 141bhp 2.0-litre diesel engine coupled with a six-speed automatic transmission, starts from Rs 22.95 lakh for the Attraction trim and goes up to Rs 32.66 lakh for the to-end Technology variant (all prices ex-showroom Delhi). 

Despite being its most affordable model on offer in India, Audi India has equipped the A3 with all the luxury bells and whistles. The top trim variants come with Bi-xenon +headlamps with LED daytime-running lamps, 17-inch alloy wheels, a retractable 7-inch display for the multimedia infotainment system, touchpad with handwriting recognition, auto dual-zone air-conditioning, electrically adjustable front seats, a rearview camera, panoramic sunroof and seven airbags, among other features. 

Speaking at the launch, Joe King, head of Audi India, said: “In line with our customer-centric approach, we decided to launch the sedan version of the A3 which is a segment up from the compact luxury hatchback.”

According to King, the launch of the A3 is the right product at the right time and will set new benchmarks.  “2014 has been a year of many firsts for Audi. Audi India completed its best-ever annual sales (10,002) and financial year sales (10,126). We are optimistic of double-digit growth during the current year with the A3 contributing 15 percent of the sales volumes.”  Parts for the A3 which is being assembled at Aurangabad are sourced from Hungary and Germany.

The new A3 sedan rivals entry-level offerings from the other two German luxury car marques, the Mercedes-Benz A-class and the BMW 1-series hatchbacks and with the aggressive starting price, Audi is definitely set to make the competition very stiff. 

Audi India plans to launch a slew of new models during the next four months in various segments. It began the year with the introduction of the RS 7 Sportback and followed it up with the launch of the new A8L in May.

As part of its marketing strategy, the carmaker has increased its penetration in Tier 2 and Tier 3 towns with new outlets at Udaipur, Vishakapatnam and Nashik. The next few weeks will see the opening of a new Audi showroom at Kozhikode in Kerala in line with its plans to expand its dealership to 40 by end- 2014 from the current 34 showrooms. Audi India also opened its largest pre-owned luxury car showroom ‘Audi Approved: plus’ in Gurgaon in April.