Audi expects sale of its diesel, petrol vehicles in India to be equal by 2020

German luxury carmaker Audi expects its sales of diesel and petrol vehicles in India to be equal by 2020 against the backdrop of an accelerating trend of customer preference changing from the former to the latter, according to a senior company official. Audi India is now offering both diesel and petrol options in all of its models, except in its sports car models which are available only in petrol engine option.

"There has been a shift from diesel to petrol in the auto industry. In our case also the trend is clearly visible," Audi India Head Rahil Ansari told PTI. In 2015, diesel vehicles accounted for 90 per cent of Audi's sales in India with the rest 10 per cent coming from petrol vehicles, he added.

"That has changed from last year to 70:30 and that trend is clearly also changing and we are aiming at a mix of 50:50 by 2020," Ansari said.

Audi India had sold 7,876 units in 2017, up 2 per cent from 7,720 units sold in 2016. He said the change in customer preference in favour of petrol option is due to the decreased price differential between petrol and diesel fuels.

From around Rs 20 in 2012, the difference in petrol and diesel duel prices has gone below Rs 10 at present. Ansari said the total cost of ownership of petrol vehicle is now "not a concern" as compared to a diesel vehicle for customers.

With a view to tap on the increasing preference for petrol vehicles, he said Audi India has completed introduction of petrol variants in all of its models.

Last week, the company had launched petrol variant of its popular SUV, Q5 with price starting at Rs 55.27 lakh. Audi India sells a range of vehicles, including sedans A3, A4, A5, A6, A7 and SUVs such as Q3, Q5 and Q7.

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Commenting on the outlook of future fuel technologies, Ansari said, "From 2020 onwards you will see a larger shift towards electrification. Alternate fuels, battery electric vehicles will also come but not so quickly." He further said, "The trend for petrol will also increase but it is a question of time that the electric mobility will be successful in India."