Audi A4 Launched

The new A4 is equipped with Audi drive select (suspension adjusts to suit the road conditions), Quattro (all wheel drive), Multimedia Interface (MMI), rear view camera, Bang & Olufsen audio system with 14 speakers, rear seat entertainment, 3 zone air conditioning to name a few.

Whether this car will be able to take the fight to BMW and Mercedes cant be said without driving it, but on paper it does look promising. The pricing of the new Audi-A4 would range between Rs 29 lakh to Rs 36 lakh depending upon the versions, available with 2.0 TDI multitronic engine and 3.2 FSI tiptronic quattro engine.

Source - Motorbeam

Audi R8 to light up Indian roads

The rich are not concerned whatever the price of oil,atleast that's what Audi thinks.Audi plan to launch their beauty the R8 in India[end of 2008] high oil prices or not.One look at the car and you would not mind the fact that your fuel bills would be eating up your bank balance faster than the car could transport you from A to B.

In case you are already not familiar about the mid-engined cars specs,they stand at a mind boggling 420hp from a 4163 cc engine.So now you know why I expect the R8 owners investing in petrol pumps of their own[i.e. if they don't one already]

Audi already say they have more than a few prospective customers and its thanks to them Audi is considering the R8 for India.Let us atleast be thankful to them for because of them we will be able to see one of the best cars on the roads today actually driving past us.

Audi have not mentioned about the monstrous R8 diesel[V12 6L tdi engine] which produces a monstrous 493hp and an earth shattering 1000Nm of torque.

[source:economictimes]

[image source:wikipedia]

Audi to launch the A4 in july

VW have already announced that they are all set to launch the Jetta by July 2008,Now Audi[same VW family] plan to launch the A4 sedan in India too in July.

Wonder if this is an intentional strategy to launch both the cars so close to the other.VW certainly can get a lot of mileage from the Audi brand.

The A4 is supposedly going to have a starting price tag of Rs.29 lakhs and would compete with the BMW 3 series and the Mercedes C-class both of which are well established and have a greater following in India than the Audi. It would be interesting to see how Audi present the A4 and how many would move away from the BMW and Mercedes options to the Audi.Not that it has not been done before,the Q7 sales are proof of that.

[source:Economictimes]

Audi A8 the most expensive car to Maintain

By now you must surely have heard the saying Skoda's cost an arm and a leg to Maintain.Audi is making the family proud.The Audi A8 is the most expensive car to Maintain* in the USA over a period of five years.

The bill for an Audi A8 over a five year period stands at $1640.Giving the car company is the Mercedes suv[G-class] which costs just the same.The BMW 7 series is not that far behind at 6th place costing $1529 to maintain.Considering our love for diesel,the Audi Q7 seems to be doing quite well in India but owners should be prepared for the high bills from their dealerships with the Audi Q7 being the seventh most expensive car to maintain.Coincidentally Audi,BMW and Mercedes have two cars each in the list.

From the non-luxury cars no surprises its the Hummers at the top of the list[H2 at $1484 and H3 at $1244].

Given the higher import costs for the Indian markets expect a much higher figure when it comes to India.

[image source:manager-magazin.de]


For the detailed list please visit:
Forbes

Maintain*- the average amount consumers might pay to keep their new cars in operating condition

Whats keeping Lexus Away from the Indian Markets?

Each month you hear Mercedes and BMW say sales have overshot expectations by a huge margin.BMW now say they could well achieve 10000 units per annum by 2010 easily[and then you will again hear they have exceeded this target].Its the same with the others as well be it Mercedes,Volvo,Audi.

Then why does one of the hottest brands as far as the Premium badge is considered prefer to stay away from the Indian markets.Yes Lexus has well and truly been accepted as a luxury brand throughout the world and its no different here in India.We have imports here in the Indian market and the SUV's especially seem to be quite popular.Why does Toyota want to deprive itself from one of the hottest markets.Even the Camry which is imported from Japan and attracting those huge duties is still doing pretty well considering its ridiculously high price in the Indian market.So the excuse that a Lexus imported as a completely built unit will not attract customers does not real stand firm ground.And surely if BMW and Mercedes can do it so can Lexus it too should start assembling cars in India there is definitely a big enough enough market in India.

Toyota is simply giving the first mover advantage to these already well established brands and letting them set up a good enough network in India.This was the best time to catch these big boys on the back foot no point taking them head-on when they are well established in India[leaving aside Mercedes which is already well established and the darling of the premium car buyers in India].

But then isn't this the case with the whole Toyota brand in India.It is ridiculous that Toyota just has two vehicles in the mainstream market in India[4 overall in India] after more than 10 years in the Indian market.Yes Toyota is approaching the Indian market with caution after the DCM Toyota fiasco but does it really have to be so extreme.We know you have some of the best vehicles for markets like ours,but please get them here first.

[Image source:Wikipedia]

Also read:
Lexus to be sold in the Indian markets soon