German luxury car maker Audi will start assembling its Q5 SUV in India by March 2010. The German company is expecting a big boost in sales as the vehicle’s price tag is expected to come down.
The company will use the Aurangabad facility where it assembles the A4 and A6 at present. A new line will be setup which would have an annual capacity of 500 Q5s per year.
Audi India Managing Director Benoit Tiers -
“We have already sold 1,128 units this year. If everything goes well, I hope and we have a good chance to sell 1,700-1,800 cars in 2009, which will be an increase of about 70 per cent.”
Skoda has confirmed its SUV Yeti which was put on show at the Geneva Motor Show earlier will make it into India through the form of CKDs and assembled at the company’s facility in Aurangabad next year.
This is the exact same procedure the company adopts for some of its other products.
Skoda said it would reveal the car locally during the Auto Expo in Delhi next year and subsequently put it in the market. The Yeti is presented with petrol and diesel engines in Europe and only after the feasibility study is complete, will they come to a decision about the choice of engines for India.
The company will continue with its existing service network and in the future plans to work with VW and Audi’s infrastructure for a wider after-sales service network.
Should its price be around the 10 lakh mark, it will be a bargain.
Audi India aims to sell 1,500 cars this fiscal and is looking on track. The company expects growth of 55% and will manufacture 1,000 cars this year from its newely constructed Aurangabad plant, which has a installed capacity of 3,000 cars a year.
The Skoda Yeti is a funny looking vehicle. It’s a cross between a sedan, station wagon and a SUV. It’s a hybrid in a way!
Its structure is hybrid too- It combines the Fabia’s and the Octavia’s chassis !
We brought you Skoda Yeti high resolution images and press release from the Geneva Motor Show in March.
The first ever production model was rolled out of Kvasiny plant in the Czech Republic yesterday. It was a 4WD model equipped with a 1.8-litre TSI petrol engine. A 2.0 liter TDI engine followed suite.
Sources inform us the Skoda Yeti would be produced in India by 2011. It could arrive in the country in the form of CKDs to be glued together at the company’s facility in Aurangabad and sold for around 10-lakh rupees.
click through for press release and high resolution off-roading shots of the Yeti
