Panaji, May 8 : The economic slump caused by the mining ban in Goa has forced Audi to change tack as far as sales strategy in the state is concerned, a top official said Wednesday.

With mining banned in Goa, after a multi-million dollar scam, and the state's economy on the downswing, Audi has been forced to introduce and push the Q3, one of the cheapest but flagship SUVs, in the Goa market, said Venkat Muppana, managing director, Audi Goa.

The Indian unit of German luxury car maker, Audi has announced the launch of A6 special edition in the India market to compete better with rivals.

The special edition variant of its A6 premium saloon will be offered to the Indian customers as it marks the sale of 6,000 A6 sedans in the country. The company sold 6,000 A6 units in India during the previous six years in the country. The base trim of Audi A6 special edition comes with e 2.0 litre TDI engine carries.

Audi India on Monday announced that it enjoyed a year-on-year 10 per cent jump in sales in March this year.

The Indian arm of the renowned luxury carmaker said that it sold a total of 1,104 units in the month of March this year, as compared with 1,002 units in the corresponding month of the previous year. It was Audi India's best ever March sales.

During the January to March quarter, Audi India sold a total of 2,616 units, up 15 per cent from 2,269 units in the corresponding period of the previous year.

The Indian unit of German premium carmaker, Audi has announced its plans to launch its new R8 V10 Plus model in the growing Indian luxury car market.

Despite economic slowdown and the recently announced duty hikes for luxury cars in the budget, German luxury carmaker Audi is confident that it will be able to achieve its goal of 20 per cent growth this year.

Sticking to its annual sales and growth targets, Audi said that it was confident that it would be able to achieve its ambitious annual sales target of 10,800 units in 2013.

German premium automaker, Audi has announced the launch of the new Audi R8 supercar in the fast growing Indian market.

Audi has now replaced the R-Tronic Transmission with a 7-Speed S-Tronic Transmission in the new 2013 R8 version of the super car for the Indian market. The improvement will allow drivers to change gears faster and in a much smoother manner. The company will also offer 6-Speed Manual transmission.

The entire range of Audi cars will become costlier as the Germany-based luxury car maker has decided to hike their prices by up to Rs 3.69 lakh with effect from January 1, 2013.

The Indian arm of Audi AG on Thursday announced that it would increase the prices of all its models in response to rising input costs and declining rupee.

Michael Perschke, head of Audi India, said that the overall challenging market scenario forced them to re-evaluate their pricing strategy and hike the prices of entire model range.

German luxury carmaker, Audi has said that it has recorded an increase of an impressive 89 per cent in sales in India in the month of November this year.

Luxury car-maker Audi has announced that it would hike the prices of its entire range by up to 5 per cent from the start of next year.

The company said the combination of rise in input costs, depreciating rupee and increased fuel prices forced it to re-evaluate its pricing strategy in the country and hike the prices of the vehicles.

The Germany-based car-maker said, "Audi today announced an increase in price of its model range available in India. The increase would range up to 5 per cent across models from January 1, 2013."

Buoyed by 82 per cent increase in sales in September, luxury car manufacturer Audi India is hopeful that it will surpass its own target of selling 8,000 units in 2012.

According to released figures, Audi enjoyed an increase of 82.16 per cent in sales to 1,011 units, as compared with 555 units in the corresponding month of the previous year.

Mexico City, Sep 7 - German luxury automaker Audi plans to build a $1.3 billion plant in the Mexican state of Puebla that will be the company's first production facility in the Americas, Mexican President Felipe Calderon said.

Some 20,000 jobs will be created during the plant's construction, which will start in 2013.

The plant in the city of San Jose Chiapa is expected to create 9,800 direct and indirect permanent jobs once it starts operating, Calderon said during a ceremony Wednesday at the Los Pinos presidential residence.

Leading luxury carmakers Mercedes-Benz as well as its larger rivals, BMW and Audi are increasing using advanced technologies to reach out to their customers even in smaller cities in India.

Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Audi are all using iPad apps and online campaigns in order to reach customers who reside in smaller cities and towns in the country, where the companies do not have a dealership.

Luxury carmaker, Audi has announced a 28 per cent rise in sales in the US market mainly due to a strong growth in the premium car segment.

The sales of premium category Audi A8, A7, A6, and Q7 rose by an impressive 30.4 per cent. The growth in July marks the 19th consecutive month of rising sales for the company. Audi sold a total of 11,707 units during July 2012, resulting in a 28% increase in sales from the same month in the previous year.

The Audi S4 model from the German premium car maker is all set to hit the India roads as the company announced the launch of the model for Indian customers today.

The new S4 model will be available in the country through the 19 Audi dealerships across India. The model is powered by a cool V6 3.0 TFSI engine and the car can attain a speed of 100 km/h from zero in just 5 seconds.

Audi India Head Michael Perschke said, “With impressive sales growth in the first five months of this year and the launch of the Audi TT, new Audi A4 and now Audi S4, 2012 is proving to be an exciting time for us.”

Premium car maker Audi, which is a unit of the Volkswagen group of Germany, is set to acquire motorcycle maker Ducati Motor Holding from Investindustrial in a deal valued at US $1.1 billion or 860 million euros.

According to a person closer to the matter, the deal value takes into consideration the debt owned by the company. Audi has entered into an agreement with Investindustrial to acquire Ducati, which is a luxury motorbikes maker based in Bologna, Italy.

Premium automaker, Audi has announced the launch of new AQR design initiative in Germany and is now focusing on looking at stake purchases is several leading designing firms.

Audi is planning to make investments in the leading German design firms in order to boost its new design initiative. The auto maker is believed to be planning to acquire 49% stake in CSI Unternehmensgruppe, which has been in the field since 1995 and has clients like Mercedes Benz and Porsche. The Germany-based CSI has expertise in designing the exterior and interior modules of cars.

Premium German car maker, Audi is planning to launch a new tyre programme offering suitable winter tyres to its customers.

New winter tyres will now be available from Audi centres for most of the models offered by the company for £550 including charged for fitting and taxes in the UK. The Audi centres will also stock full wheel and tyre sets for 16 to 19- inch styles, from £792.

The winter tires, which retain their flexibility at temperatures below freezing, offer huge safety benefits when compared to other tires while driving in cold climate, according to experts.

Auto maker, Audi has confirmed that it will produce a new environment friendly A8 limousine. The new model is slated to go into production in 2012. It will be powered by a 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol engine along with an electric motor. It has a overall fuel economy of 44mpg and a CO2 emissions are below under 148g/km.

The combined power of the petrol engine and the electric motor is 242bhp that can take the car from zero to 62mph in just 7.7 seconds and has a top speed of 146mph.

Mumbai, May 5 : German luxury car manufacturer Audi's Indian subsidiary Thursday reported a 98 percent increase in sales for the month of April at 375 units as compared to 189 vehicles in the like period of last year.

"Our positive growth momentum is a result of our customer-centric approach, supplemented with the expansion of our dealer network and enhancement of our energetic product line," Audi India head Michael Perschke said.

According to Perschke, the company was planning to launch its sports car A7 and a new variant of luxury sedan A6 in the coming months.

Mumbai, April 1 : German luxury car manufacturer Audi's Indian subsidiary Friday said it sold 1,611 cars in January-March, a growth of 107 percent over 778 cars sold in the same period last year.

"Our impressive performance this quarter is testimony to the positive customer response to progressive design, exceptional service standards and cutting edge technology," said Michael Perschke, head of Audi India.

The company reported an increase of 210 percent in its sales for the month of March, which stood at 681 cars as against 220 cars in March 2010.