Balbir Singh Dhillon, Brand Director, Audi India on plans for India and new cars | evo India podcast

The Audi Q3 helped Audi India to become the first luxury car maker to breach that mark. In 2015, Audi hit 11,192 units. By 2020, that number was 1,693. The Q3 was the difference both times. Now the third-generation Audi Q3 is here, and Balbir Singh Dhillon, Brand Director of Audi India, sat down with Ed Sirish Chandran in Goa to talk through everything.This conversation covers the complete Audi India story, how a single car can make or break a luxury brand, what goes into a product launch three to four years before the first key is handed to a customer, and what Audi's most ambitious product offensive in India looks like from the inside. The Q9 is confirmed for India, with Balbir explaining why it will not just be a niche halo car but a volume model. The Q7 is coming, the work is on, and announcements will happen. The Q6 e-tron pricing problem, why CBU pricing killed resale values and what Audi learned from it is addressed directly. The India-EU FTA duty structure is explained in full — 35 per cent to 30 per cent on ICE and hybrid cars above the import price threshold, 2,500 non-homologated cars split across the entire VW Group including Audi, Porsche, Bentley and Skoda, and why rupee depreciation may absorb much of the benefit before it reaches customers.Balbir also talks about the pricing war in the entry luxury segment — nobody wins it, but everyone has to fight it. Pre-owned luxury cars as the strategy to widen Audi's customer base — from seven showrooms in 2020 to 27 today, selling one pre-owned car for every new car. Running Audi India through COVID without letting a single person go. The Audi RS model he most regrets not bringing to India. And the car he loved most — the R8, which customers still call him about.