Audi's luxury sports car R8 debuts in India for Rs.1.17 crore

As R8 is customizable, it will take 2-3 months, from the date of order, to deliver the car, the company said.

In India, Audi manufactures the A4 and A6 at its assembly plant in Aurangabad while Audi A8, sports utility vehicle Q7 and the Audi TT coupe are imported. Audi R8 will also be imported from Germany as CBUs (completely built units).

Incidentally, at a time when the Indian auto industry is witnessing slowdown in growth, the German luxury car maker has reported robust growth and earnings.

The company reported an increase of 203 percent in its sales figures in past 10 months, having sold 884 cars from January 2008 to October 2008, as compared to the 292 cars sold during the same period last year.

In October 2008 alone, Audi car sales rose by 312 percent, as compared to the sales in the corresponding month of the previous year.

According to a company spokesman, this was made possible as Audi aggressively expanded its dealership network throughout India and launched hi-profile advertising and branding campaigns targeting the niche segment of the society.