When Rahil Ansari took charge as the Head of Audi India on February 1, 2017, he became the first person of Indian origin to do so. In fact, at 38, he is also the youngest Brand Director for Audi Worldwide!

Ansari, who has done his education in Germany, France and Sweden, has been working with Audi since 2004. And while he has mostly worked in Europe on various assignments, he has also responsible for the sales and marketing in India (and Pakistan and Sri Lanka) between 2006 and 2008. So, he has a fair understanding of this market. Audi has already launched 11 models in India in 2017 - one more than its set target of ten models. "We will do whatever is necessary to reach a continuous growth for Audi and its dealer partners. Of course, we need to make sure that we achieve a sustainable and viable growth in India," Ansari shares, adding that "We are not only looking at volumes but also our main focus is to fulfil customers' requirements and create memorable moments for them. This means we will also be launching entirely new models, which will create a new segment in the industry."

With some exciting new products and initiatives planned in 2018 - including the upcoming secondgeneration Audi Q5 - Ansari is quite
positive about the New Year. "The segment is small, but the country is so full of resources. A substantial amount of people can own an Audi. We expect the market to grow at a certain stage. India is a small but strategic market for Audi," he says. In addition to expanding the network footprint, Ansari believes in increasing accessibility by reaching out to the customers, even at their doorsteps.

One of the important things for Audi in India is the change of the philosophy. "We are now being perceived as being a global brand that is Indianised. ‘My Kind of Audi' initiatives take into consideration the different cultures and regions within India itself, and integrating in our customer events," Ansari adds.

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