Audi eyeing first-mover advantage in luxury EVs, says Rahil Ansari

Luxury carmaker Audi is planning to increase its touch points in India to 100 by the year-end and is gearing up to launch an electric vehicle (EV) soon if the set-up is right. Rahil Ansari, Audi India’s country chief, in an interview with Shahkar Abidi, talks about the German firm’s plans regarding EVs, policy flip-flops, competition, among others. 

What are the latest developments?

Overall, we have launched the (updated versions) of Q5, RS5 and a few more products. A lot of other products will come in 12 to 24 months. Of course, the (new) A8 is awaited. There is a slight delay in getting this into India. While a lot of things are done and discussed centrally, we are in a position to launch an EV (electric vehicle) latest by 2020. We could also do it earlier if the set-up (infrastructure) is the right one. So the E-Tron that will be presented next month globally will be one of those cars that we could bring into India.

There is a lot of back-and-forth happening in the drafting of guidelines for EVs. So how are you geared up to launch an EV in the next couple of years?

Initially for EVs, there was a policy planned. Then there was a communication that there is not going to be any policy. Now there is a go-ahead. In principle, I am in favour of a clear policy and guidelines for EVs. There are two ways; either you have a policy in place or you leave it completely open but you don’t get any policy in place afterwards. That will leave the playing field open. You don’t have a policy in place and you just leave it open. That’s a scenario which is okay for us. The worst thing that could happen is that you plan something, you are ready to roll it out and a policy comes into play that clearly opposes what you have been doing before.

Skoda, which is a part of the Volkswagen group, will be leading the expansion in the Indian market. Does it bring any changes for Audi, which is also a part of the Volkswagen group?

It is business as usual. What I can confirm to you is that we have no change in terms of strategy for India. We are clear of what we want and what we are going to do in the market.

How big is your network?

We have 39 dealers at the moment and more than 90 customer touch points. We will be reaching almost 100 touch points by the year-end, which also includes dealers.

What kind of a market are you looking at for the EV cars?

We are looking at the key metros mostly - Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad - because they are more promising. But the final decision will be made after considering the dealer partners as that will be an additional investment by them. It also has to make business sense to have setups there.

What kind of numbers are you looking for EVs in the initial years?

We are looking at a three-digit number which should come by the second year in operations. However, on an overall basis, we are pretty clear to reach 10,000 units in the next three to four years. We are looking to have a first-mover advantage in luxury EV space in India. 

What are you doing to bridge the gap between the number one player in the luxury segment?

There is nothing happening on those lines as I am not looking at the number one spot at an immediate stage. We are making sure that dealers are profitable and growing. It’s easier to buy market share in the short term. You can increase the number of cars but the problem is that for me it’s a short-term gain.