We sat down with Joe King, Director, Audi India, to discuss their plans for the year and also his take on the NCR diesel ban
What are the highlights of your model showcase here at the expo?
Let’s start with the R8 – it was such a phenomenal car when it was first launched that it was always going to be a challenge to come up with the next generation. But it looks great. It’s the most powerful and fastest Audi that we’ve ever built. So I think that combination really takes it to another level – it’s in the supercar category if you like! But the same goes for the A4 when you look at what they’ve been able to put together. It’s still distinctly an Audi, but the new design language is starting to come through – and the technology in the car is phenomenal. It’s a real next-gen car, and it’s been very successful for us. This one will redefine the category again, and put us back to leadership in that category.
The A4 space is competitive now with the Jaguar XE launch. How does the A4 stand apart from the rest?
If you look at the overseas markets, it’s already been well rewarded in some of the big auto awards overseas – so I think that’s a great indication that this has jumped ahead. Yes, it’s a competitive segment, and, yes, they’re all fantastic cars in that segment – but I think that’s also where our strong customer base comes in, as there’ll be plenty of people who will update their current A4. So, it’s not always about us getting new customers, but also keeping our fifty-two-odd thousand customers within the brand as well.
As an automaker, at present, you don’t know whether to listen to the Supreme Court, the CPCC, the NGT, or the various ministries. What do you need to be able to continue to invest in the country?
We need a real roadmap with good communication between all the automakers. I think everyone has to agree to a long-term goal, and then the strategy can be worked back. The important thing is to understand what we want to achieve, and then we can work back on what’s realistic – that helps create certainty for customers, dealers, and, of course, for auto manufacturers. Nothing is worse for business confidence as a short-term decision such as the one in the NCR at the moment. Maybe it needed to happen, but perhaps not that way. I really welcome the move to BS-VI. We’ve got engines ready, and it’ll bring the price down ultimately for the customer because we get synergies around the world in the different markets. And I think we’re also seeing a huge opportunity for India to jump beyond BS-VI, and start thinking more about electrification – so even looking at the next step in the roadmap! But that can’t be done one dimensionally, it’s got to be done holistically and we’ve got to involve everyone in the discussion – a bit like how you would talk about a climate change idea. There has to be an overriding goal as to what you want to achieve so that you can work back to see how best that can be achieved by everyone, because everyone is invested and everyone wants to continue to invest – and the auto industry and the consumers need people to continue to invest.
So, as a company, how do you respond to a diesel ban in the NCR?
It’s disappointing from our perspective. We launched the Q7, a really important model for us, and two days later we can’t sell that car in the NCR – but that’s just our perspective. At the end of the day, a longer-term roadmap helps. If we knew this was coming, we could have planned for more petrol – we have petrol engines, but we plan our capacity well in advance. But short-term decisions, more than just for us, are really confusing for the consumer. Now customers are not sure whether they should buy diesel or petrol. So a bit of clarity helps everyone. Everyone can adapt, and everyone will work towards adapting as quickly as possible if the roadmap is clear. So I think the BS-VI by 2020 decision is great, but we need the fuel quality to get there.
As of now, until you get more clarity, are you looking at more petrols?
Yes, as a first step we’ve allocated more petrol to Delhi/NCR. But we’re talking in timeframes of 6-8 months, because we can’t adapt that quickly. At the moment, we’re just guessing as to what might happen post 31st March.
What’s your outlook for the year in general?
The market will continue to grow – it’s growing slowly, but 5-6% is not a bad growth rate anyway. We’ll grow with the market, and we’ll launch more than ten new products, and we’ll continue expanding to Tier II and Tier III cities. We’re really focussing on a service-first approach, so we’ll open workshops only in Jodhpur, Hubli and Trivandrum. We’re not just here to put up glitzy showrooms, but we also want to increase the service capacity for the cars that are already in the market.
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