By DPA
Ingolstadt (Germany) : German luxury carmaker Audi said Thursday it has started production of its A6 family saloon in India.
Some 300 vehicles are expected to be assembled at the plant at Aurangabad in the western state of Maharashtra this year, with the number increasing to 2,000 by 2015, the company said.
Audi said it plans to start producing a new version of its best-selling A4 model in India at the end of 2008.
The company plans to invest more than 30 million euros ($44 million) in its Indian operation by 2015.
“Starting our own production is the best way to adequately serve a promising growth market like India,” Audi chief executive Rupert Stadler said in a statement.
India plays a key role in the Volkswagen subsidiary’s plans to achieve a global turnover of 1.5 million vehicles by 2015, the statement said.
In 2006 the company sold between 200 and 300 vehicles in India. A spokesman gave no figures for 2007 but said sales rose at a double-digit level in percentage terms.