Audi’s Bhubaneswar showroom opened

Audi India opened its first showroom in the State at Bhubaneswar Utkal Signature on the National Highway No 5 at Pahala. German luxury car maker Audi announced a target of selling around 120 cars in Odisha this year. Making clear its intent to aggressively push into Odisha, which it views an important emerging market.

The swanky showroom spread over 14,500 sq ft was inaugurated by Head, Audi India, Michael Perschke in presence of Audi Bhubaneswar MD Devjyoti Patnaik while Bollywwod actor Lara Dutta added glamour to the glitter by unveiling the stunning new super sports car R8 Spyder.

The showroom will put on display the entire range of Audi cars, that start from Rs 30 lakh to Rs 2 crore, and will also house an Audi Shop and Audi Exclusive elements, where customised products and Audi merchandise would be available. In a bid to cater to a wider customer segment, Audi is all set to launch the Q3 SUV model with a price range of Rs 26 lakh onwards by September.

Audi has already sold 22 cars in the State from January 2013 to date. The total luxury car sales projected for Odisha is 350 of which Audi seeks to grab about 35 percent market share to sell at least 120 cars by the end of this year.

After Bhubaneswar, showrooms would be opened in Noida and Vadodara soon, Perschke said. The car major has sold 770 vehicles in the country in April, posting a growth of 37 percent over the corresponding period last year. Between January and April, the sales have been 3386.

“Besides, the showroom, Audi Bhubaneswar will also manage the exclusive Audi service that would have a capacity to service 15 cars per day with nine bays along with body shop and painting”, MD Devjyoti Patnaik said.

The target is to sell 10,800 cars in 2013 against 9350 in 2012, he added.