War of the Titans in the Luxury Car Segment of India
The luxury car segment of the Indian automobile industry is, at present, witnessing a period of great turmoil and change, where long-holding champions are getting overridden and pillars of deep-rooted empires are getting shaken. A furious war has broken out between the titans of the royal world of cars, where Audi is working its fingers to the bone trying to occupy the pole position in the business, BMW is trying with all its might to secure its dominion and Mercedes-Benz, which has already been dethroned from its position of Number 2, is trying to pull up its socks to fight back and regain its lost esteem. But out of the three luxury houses, the one that seems to be the most focussed and aggressively heading towards its ultimate goal of standing at the supreme pedestal in the luxury sector is Audi. And this is not something that Audi fans are reciting in the praise of their beloved brand, this is a fact that is being loudly echoed in numbers and statistics being released every month. Now openly declared as the fastest growing luxury car-maker of the country, Audi India is on a take-over spree, establishing its rule first over the second position and now gearing up in all flare and frenzy to take over the title of Number 1.
Having already faced defeat in BMW India in 2010 when, despite being the oldest player in the field, Mercedes-Benz India was dropped to the second place, the luxury house suffered yet another colossal blow in September this year when it was finally pushed down one step below by its native rival Audi India. That said, it is a pretty low phase for Mercedes-Benz India, which leaves just two real warriors in the ground – Audi and BMW. Standing neck and neck as far as sales figures are concerned, BMW India’s 7389 units (till October 2012) does not seem to be too tough a target for Audi India that successfully sold a whole lot of 7267 units in the same duration, completing its pre-set goal of 8000 units for 2012 a month early by doing away with 8072 models by November this year. And now the master of the four glorious rings has fixed itself an even bigger and more challenging aim by setting the minimum sales target for the coming year at 8600. No doubt that this particular German camp has completely given itself to the quest for the crown.
Considering the shooting pace that Audi India has taken up, it is very likely that the auto-giant from Germany would not need to wait until its personally set limit of 2015 to see itself at the apex of the segment. If victories continue to flow their way with the same rush as they are now, speculations are high that 2014 won’t pass without bringing yet another colossal drift in ranks in the royal arena. So now, lets have a look at what exactly does Audi India plan to bring about in the coming days that is going to prove so revolutionary for the market in its very numerical and statistical sense. Following its arch rivals in their strategy of bringing hatchbacks to India, Audi, not only announced its very own version of a small car in the form of A3, but also stated it to be “a very interesting project”. And while hatches are at the top of their list of things-to-do in near future, they are not their sole priority. Tasting the real success on the Indian soil owing to their marvellous Q series, Audi is in no mood of taking its eyes or mind off the highly-lucrative segments of luxury sedans and sports utilities.
