German luxury carmaker Audi is keen on offering pre-owned cars in India through its

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Audi Approved Plus, said a top official.

“We are evaluating the requirements and customer preferences for used cars. Audi Approved Plus, selling pre-owned cars in many countries, which is not yet there in India is likely to be introduced here this year or the next year,” said Anil Reddi, head of sales, Audi India.

This is primarily targeted at people wanting to upgrade to luxury cars at lower price points.

Elsewhere, Audi Approved Plus offers a selection of pre-owned cars that are used for less than five years at lower pricing. The vehicles undergo safety and mechanical checks and road-tests and are qualified by Audi engineers.

On prospects of a small car, he said: “India is a huge market for small cars. We are aware of the customer requirements. Audi as a company is driven by its products and price but it is too early to say in concrete terms what we have to offer at what price.”

The German car maker, which launched A7 Sportback- its new luxury sedan in Hyderabad on Friday, has set a target to sell over 5,000 Audis this year and has sold 2,394 cars as of May. It will launch the newly designed A6 in the fourth quarter of 2011.

The luxury car market in India is estimated to be 22,000 cars, which is just 0.7 per cent of the total car sales in India. Audi has a market share of 20 per cent and is hopeful of taking it to 24 per cent this year, he said adding that growth will slow down as the customer based widened

“The luxury car segment in India has potential to grow to over two per cent, he said.

Audi now assembles Audi A6, A4 and Q5 at the Volkswagen Group facility at Aurangabad in Maharashtra by importing the completely knocked down (CKD) components These cars attract custom duty and other levies to the tune of 40 per cent. However, completely built units (CBU) attract an import duty of 60 per cent and with other levies and duties it comes to 110 per cent.

The new definition of CKD, which aims at encouraging local production of automobiles, implies that the companies have to assemble engines, transmission and gear boxes locally to be eligible for concessional import duty.

There is no impact of the new CKD norms on Audi pricing. The company will invest about Euro 10 million in four years to make its Aurangabad facility which has a capacity to make 6,000 cars annually more `flexible’ in terms of technology. “Localisation is a constant effort,” he said without quantifying how much it aimed at and by what time.

On the customer profile of Audi, Reddi said that more than 45 per cent of them make a direct cash purchase while the rest take the financing route.