Luxury car maker Audi India today said it will exceed its target of selling 8,000 units this year, buoyed by a 82 per cent jump in sales in September.
The company is also considering raising the prices of its entire range of vehicles post the festive season in November or December to mitigate the impact of adverse foreign exchange movements and strengthening of raw material rates.
“With the strong numbers in September, we have crossed last year’s total sales numbers. It is a big achievement for us. We are now fully confident of crossing our target of selling 8,000 cars in 2012 by a good number,” Audi India Head Michael Perschke told PTI.
The company’s sales in September soared by 82.16 per cent to 1,011 compared to 555 units in September 2011, he added.
Audi India has so far sold 6,417 units in the first nine months of this year, as against 4,210 units in the year-ago period. In 2011, the firm had sold a total of 5,511 units.
“All of our models contributed to this growth. However, sedans A4 and A6 and sports utility vehicle Q3’s numbers were significantly helpful this year,” Perschke said, adding that the entire Q range of SUVs recorded good sales.
Talking about the impact of foreign exchange fluctuations and rising input costs, he said it is impacting the company.
“We do not want to spoil the festive season. So there will be no price hike in October. However, we seriously need to revise prices and an increase is expected in November or December,” Perschke said.
The company will consider hiking the prices of its product range — both assembled and imported vehicles, he added.
Audi India has already raised the prices of the Q3 by up to two per cent, translating into an increase of Rs 50,000.
The company at present has 21 dealerships and it is expanding the reach to 24-25 outlets by the end of this year, Perschke said.