Audi India commits to three locally assembled launches by 2027
Audi India head Balbir Singh Dhillon has confirmed three new launches inside twelve months: the third-generation Q3 by December 2026, the A5 in February 2027 and the Q9 flagship SUV in the second half of 2027. All three will be locally assembled at the Skoda Auto Volkswagen plant in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar.
What was announced
Balbir Singh Dhillon, head of Audi India, has confirmed to Autocar India that three all-new Audis will launch in the Indian market inside a twelve-month window. "Three models in less than 12 months' time," Dhillon said. The critical commercial detail is that none of the three will arrive as completely built-up imports; all will be assembled at the Skoda Auto Volkswagen Group plant in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, alongside existing group products.
Local assembly, not FTA cuts, is what finally puts Audi back in the fight against Mercedes and BMW in India.
Dhillon framed the local-assembly stance as strategic rather than tactical, telling Autocar: "To be successful in India, you have to make in India. Irrespective of any FTA, we will still make in India. That will remain the core strategy." He noted that model-to-model replacement needs little fresh capital because the plant tooling was set up years ago.
| Model | Launch window | Estimated price |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 (third-gen) | Oct-Dec 2026 | Rs 60 lakh |
| A5 | February 2027 | Not disclosed |
| Q9 flagship SUV | H2 2027 | Not disclosed |
All three models will be locally assembled. The third-gen Q3 was globally revealed in June and offers petrol, diesel and plug-in hybrid powertrains internationally; the India powertrain mix has not been detailed.
The Car Jury verdict
This is the most credible product plan Audi India has laid out in years, and the local assembly commitment is what makes it stick. Dhillon's line, "Irrespective of any FTA, we will still make in India," matters because CBU pricing is what stalled Audi's momentum against the Q5 era rivals from Mercedes and BMW. A Rs 60 lakh Q3 assembled locally is a real answer to the GLA and X1.
The Q9 is the interesting bet. Biturbo Media noted of an unrelated luxury launch that "a company sells most of its cars for Rs 12 to 15 lakhs suddenly launches an SUV whose ex-showroom price is Rs 67 lakhs." Audi does not have that credibility problem at the top end; the Q7 buyer already exists. Buy the Q3 when it lands, wait on the Q9 until pricing is public.
