[TusharK]

Audi India registered an 89% growth in CY2023. The carmaker sold 7,931 units in the period of January to December.



According to Audi, the positive growth can be attributed to new product launches, including the Q3 Sportback, Q8 e-tron and the Q8 Sportback e-tron. The A4, A6 and Q5 also witnessed good demand, along with its flagship models like the Q7, Q8, A8 L, S5 Sportback, RS5 Sportback, RS Q8, e-tron GT and the RS e-tron GT.

The company registered a 174% growth in SUV sales, while its performance and lifestyle cars, including the e-tron range, grew by 40%.

Audi Approved: plus recorded a 62% growth in 2023.

Link to Team-BHP News

[adityaNview]

One of the major factors contributing to these sales figures is the awesome discount scheme that is being given by Audi. Everyone likes a sweet deal, and Audi India is milking it.

[GTO]

Happy to see Audi's sales growth. They are the only ones that can keep the other luxury brands in check as prices are getting ridiculous by the day!

There is no doubt that, in a sea of overpriced luxury cars, Audi is the rare brand that is selling luxury cars at prices that make sense. Thanks to the heavy discounting, you can get an extremely competent A6 at the price of a C-Class or 3-Series. A very close friend bought a Q5 for 62 (or 63?) on-the-road. That's a price comparable to the BMW X1 and way, way below the Mercedes GLC & GLE.

This BHPian bought the mighty Q7 for 82-lakhs OTR:

Originally Posted by smile_plzz

Final OTR (without service pack but 5 year warranty) was less than 82 lakhs, a total if abt 15 lakhs discount. This is Premium plus variant. But now what I hear is Audi is not giving more than 5-6 lakh discount. One of my friends is trying to negotiate but not getting beyond 6.

And see how happy customers are:

Originally Posted by Karjun

Hi,

As a fairly new Q7 owner I’ll shed some light on my experience so far. I picked up my brand new Q7 55tfsi Technology on the 7th of July 2023. Audi Kochi, they have been nothing but extremely hospitable during the purchase process and gave great discounts and a few accessories after a bit of back n forth negotiations . While test driving the car what stood out to me was the ride quality which simply none of its competitors came close to. After doing a bunch of roadtrips with the car, it’s been phenomenal on highways and the V6 engine is dead silent with more than enough Grunt to keep pulling at any speed, and the car wasn’t out of breath having enough power in reserve to keep pulling, I had to back off because of some dumb two wheeler who decided to swerve lanes abruptly.

The the matrix lights are truly amazing, it’s bloody powerful on the highways and lets you drive with the main beam on without blinding oncoming cars(works 90% of the time). On to the interior, the fit and finish is great and the only features I missed were ventilated
seats and wireless CarPlay. Rear seats are decent( as good as the GLE and have enough recline but are manual adjust). The third row is not exactly spacious and is best reserved for kids and short drives. The car returns 8-9kmpl on highways and abt 6-7 in the city. Currently I own a Vellfire, Lexus ES300h, Mini Countryman, Merc E220d, Jaguar XF and a Innova Crysta, and I can confidently say the Q7 is great bang for your buck. Audi have really ironed out any flaws and imperfections the prefacelift might’ve had.

My uncle owned a Q7 for 12 years and did 1.4 lakh km and only had good things to say about it. The last 2 years of ownership did cost him a bit but it’s not surprising as most cars do after 10 years. So I’d say maintenance should be similar for all the Germans.

Out of the 3, the Q7 is probably the middle child being extremely comfortable and powerful but a bit less dynamic than the BMW.

[Shreyans_Jain]

Audi Q7 is an underrated and outstanding vehicle of the Indian car market today. Truly premium quality product inside out, with a proper V6 petrol engine, at a price that is still generally under 8 figures in most places. You get it for a little more than a GLC or about the same price as an E, and this is so much more car.

[the_skyliner]

Originally Posted by GTO

Happy to see Audi's sales growth. They are the only ones that can keep the other luxury brands in check as prices are getting ridiculous by the day!

Absolutely true! I purchased Audi A6 Technology in 2021 and for OTR price which was slightly less than that of C Class and BMW 3 series! What a deal!

And I have nothing but good things to say about the A6. It's a perfect family sedan which has acres of leg room and super comfortable ride.

My family concluded that this is the best car in terms of ride quality out of all the cars that they have experienced.

For me as a driver, it's quite decent to drive around corners even though it's just a FWD. It's GC is also quite good - I have taken it to my farm as well and it didn't scrape the bottom even once.

So I am not surprised that Audi sales are going up and probably will continue the trend. I also think that the recent discounting from BMW/Merc is a direct result of Audi offering mouth watering deals across it's product range.

[Indraneel Bhat]

And they look good too!!! I am not a follower of the luxury 4 wheeler segment. But I recently saw the RS5 on display at a mall...What a looker!!!

Had felt sad on earlier reports that they were not doing too well. Remembered this thread (Whatever happened to Audi India? Why is the brand struggling since 2016?)

Good for Audi!!

[thebikemaster]

Yayy! Come on Audi, glad that you guys woke up. I remember the time going all crazy seeing Audis decades back. I remember them topping the sales chart for years..
Dont know why, suddenly they lost touch and went down (even before the dieselgate) they started to give the trophy to Merc and started sliding down.

They can always make affordable luxury cars for the people. They have the right balance between being a driver centric BMW and a luxury driven Merc.

Good job Audi. Keep up and start expanding your A.S.S line up too.

[Jeroen]

I have had several Audi’s in the past. A4 and A6. If I am honest I liked the A4 estate the best. Very handsome, understated car., very comfortable, quick enough at the time with its TDI diesel.

I have always preferred my Audi’s to the various Mercedes and Beemers I have had.

Audi’s are classy cars for car connoisseurs, in my opinion. Mercedes and Beemers are just a bit too crass for me.

Jeroen

[Cresterk]

I remember when Audi only used to report their CBU sales numbers for the past few years. Is this massive growth mainly from reporting their CKD numbers as well?

[Lux_Noob]

Given the Audi has been offering these discounts for quite a while, this year’s performance has to be attributable to something beyond that. Maybe it’s the Q3, the proper entry level SUV missing from their portfolio since 3 years before, which has added to volumes this year. I do agree with Audi’s positioning - middle ground between comfort of MB and sporty appeal of BMW, makes it a great choice. Interiors on some entry level cars seem due for an update though compared to competition. Another remarkable aspect is their exterior design which ages the best. They don’t seem to make radical departures from one generation to another which maintains their brand identity and also the older gen vehicles still look relevant.

[RohanDheman]

Happy to have contributed to this with the addition for at least 5 cars including mine in close friends and family. All our deals were incredible value for money.

Personally for me, the A4 (with warranty and service pack) was a whopping 22 lacs cheaper than the 330i and C200. While the BMW and Merc are great cars in their own right, they are just not worth the 22 lacs more!

[theredliner]

This is good to hear. The prices demanded by BMW and Mercedes just don't make sense anymore, especially with the ridiculous engine options (butt-ugly designs too in case of BMW) they are pushing. It is only a matter of time before even the loyalists of these brands will start to think of other options.

Audi should use this momentum and start providing better engine options now at an honest premium. A4 45 TFSI, A6 55 TFSI etc. should help pull some more customers at the right price. VW group should find a way to take advantage of all those 1.0 and 1.5 TSIs they are selling (CAFE norms) and offer these bigger engine options with their Audis.

[Karjun]

The entire reason for this elaborate road trip plan began when a meeting in Mysore popped up on my calendar. As there are no direct flight from COK to MYQ the idea for a road trip came to life, and as usual with any family trip going to Mysore just for the meeting would be a Big No No ��. And hence began the 5 day meeting/mini vacay plan.

For the trip I decided to take our new 2023 Q7 with the goal of doing a bit of off-roading in the Nilgiris on our return journey.

We started the journey from Cochin, Kerala at about 5am to omit the morning traffic and crossed Thrissur/ Mannuthy at 5:50 and I must say the scenery at dawn along this stretch (Mannuthy-Kuthiran) was absolutely stunning, with the small hills along the NH covered in fog and the sky in a bluish orange. Melodies pumping through the 3D Bang and Olufsen 23 speaker system enhancing the serenity further. Crossed the Kerala border at 7:30ish. We’d decided to take the Sathyamangalam-Dimbam Ghat road aka Forests once under Veerapan’s control. To get there the fastest option is to cross the Coimbatore bypass and go further about 13 km and take the left to Annur (wide smooth roads). From there I followed Google Maps to reach the ghats and it was smooth sailing. The ghat section is one of the steepest covering 27 hairpins in 14km, roads are butter smooth and fairly wide but a lot of blind corners hence overtaking is fairly limited and risky. Once you reach the summit there’s mini town with 2-3 shops and not so hygienic restaurants. The roads down the other end are smooth and flowing but have speed breakers every km or so to avoid speeding. We managed to see Peacocks, Deers and Wild Boars, unfortunately no tigers were seen at the infamous Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve. These speedbreaker filled roads do go on for about 25km. Once you exit the reserve the roads widen to fairly smooth 2 lane highway with a tad bit of traffic (probably just morning rush hour) and it’s one shot to Mysore via Chamarajanagar and Nanjangud. A few stretches here are being developed probably to 4 lane highways. The Q7 absolutely shined on these roads maintaining triple digit speeds meant just feathering the throttle and the undulations or patchworks on the roads were gobbled up with ease, cocooning us not making even the slightest judder or noise. We reached the Radisson Blu Plaza Mysore at about 11:30 and checked in. This was my 2nd time in Mysore the last being about 13 years back. The city is beautiful with wide roads (hence barely any traffic) and a lot of greenery unlike most other Indian cities nowadays.

After attending the meeting I decided to visit the Mysore palace which was made super easy as a friend was the Assistant Commissioner in charge of the Palace operations. The palace is vast and beautiful, the beauty and scale cannot be described in words. We sat for the laser show in the evening which was pretty crowded but well managed.

The next day was spend going around Mysore and exploring a few food joints that were recommended online. Pro Tip- Ask the locals and don’t trust these bullshit blogs/reviews. Evening we went to Chamundi Hill lookout view point a hill right on the edge of Mysore city and right next the hotel. It was pleasant drive with shops and telescopes for viewing at the top and pretty popular temple at the peak. Retired to the hotel early for an evening drink at the Lounge facing the golf course and Chamundi Hills.

The next day post breakfast at around 12 we left for Ooty. The route is straightforward via Nanjangud-Gundlupete-Bandipur-Masinagudi. Upon entering the Forest Reserves there are checkpoints with rules clearly stated. It’s the basics- no littering, drinking alcohol, stopping or stepping out of the car, speeding or honking. There’s a forest rest stop halfway along this route to take a break and use the restrooms available (not very clean unsurprisingly). The reason they insist on not stopping anywhere else is because there is a high chance of attack from wild animals hiding in the bushes along the road, there have been a few including tiger and leapord attacks. The drive is slow but beautiful and serene and definitely worth going once atleast if u can. At the Tamilnadu checkpost they check cars at random, ensure your not carrying plastic bottles and liquor as the Nilgiris is a plastic free zone and the cops will harass you for the liquor(asking you to buy it from the TASMAC shops in Ooty and not bring your own) especially if your car is registered to another state.

Do not forget to take a left from Theppakadu as u miss it with the Navigation not working as there is a lack of network. If you miss the left your drive becomes over an hour longer but the roads in that route are much easier to tackle. Reached Ooty at 3 at had great lunch at Junior Kuppanna, food here is great compared to their other branches (also could be because we were starving). Checked into Savoy and relaxed for a bit, enjoying the chilly weather and warm hospitality as always. Had a great dinner at Shinkows Ooty which is an age old institution serving up great Chinese food and tradition for us to visit every time we are in Ooty.

The next day we decided to embark on a bit of softroading finding these places as we go. The Q7 tackled it much easier than I’d imagined and the Quattro ensured the wheels never even slipped once. Send it up a steep hill and all I needed to do was put in off-road mode and the Air Suspension rose and the car did the rest of the work, sending power to the right wheels and just climbing up not breaking a sweat like a mountain goat. The V6 with its low end torque sure helps. Before getting off the main road my dad was telling me that we would be better off in a Defender if we were gonna do this but after the climbing up the hill he change his statement and said this might be the best of both worlds, great performance on the road munching miles and bit a off offroadability.

The next day we were on our way back to Cochin and stopped a Moody's chocolate shop in Kotagiri. They have the best hot chocolate I’ve ever had and serve great quality donuts and other bakery products for you pick up on your way back home. The drive via Kotagiri as always is serene amd smooth and a great drivers road if not for the entire family in the car, hence driving super sedately along the ghats. Once down it’s a 3hr stint back home putting the V6 to good use maintaining a good avg speed. I was maintaining 8kmpl avg throughout the trip which is good considering the ghat roads and hill climb.

[ex-innova-guy]

Originally Posted by Karjun

Attachment 2589340

Man, those alloys look so hot! They have completely enhanced the look of your Q7. Also, you can get the chrome bits wrapped in black, which will further complement the alloys.

Wishing you many more road trips with it.

[ssateesh]

Originally Posted by Karjun

The entire reason for this elaborate road trip plan began when a meeting in Mysore popped up on my calender. As there are no direct flight from COK to MYQ the idea for a road trip came to life, and as usual with any family trip going to Mysore just for the meeting would be a Big No No ��. And hence began the 5 day meeting/mini vacay plan.

Good little write-up Arjun. Can relate to most of the drive experience you had mentioned with my Q7 bought Jan 2024. Here is a pic with light off-roading over beach sand at Kovalam, Chennai. Noticed you have changed the stock alloys? Which one it is and the damage?