GROWTH: Q-Auto MD Yann Lassade says the company has achieved the top spot through continuous investment in both human resources and infrastructure. Photo Umer Nangiana POPULARITY: Lassade says models with Quattro technology are hugely popular in the local market.
By Umer Nangiana
The official dealer for Audi in Qatar, Q-Auto, recently announced impressive growth results, achieving a 12.6 percent year-on-year increase. This means Audi in Qatar has achieved the strongest growth in the GCC for the Audi brand over the three consecutive years since Q-Auto was established in 2012.
In addition to the exceptional market figures, the brand in Qatar has also achieved the highest growth rate in the region for a number of key models in the Audi line up. Top achievers in the GCC include the compact Audi A3 with an astounding year to date growth figure of 188.9%, while the A8 executive sedan and A4 follow close behind with an increment of 72% and 13% respectively.
“The growth of Audi in Qatar has been substantial. In the past three years, it has been double-digit, much faster than the market growth. And despite a market slow-down, we are forecasting a 25% increase this year versus last year in which we had a 50 percent increase against the year before,” Yann Lassade, the Managing Director of Q-Auto, told Community in a chat recently, explaining the growth figures.
“The reality is that we (Q-Auto) have number one spot in the region in the Audi world in terms of the market share, moving from the last and second last positions three years ago. We are the best performing dealer in the region,” Lassade added, before moving on to explain the phenomenon that helped the four-rings’ dealer in Qatar expand and grow.
First is the physical investment in showrooms and workshops. Then, he said, it is the staff. Every staff member goes through a continuous cycle of trainings, technical or soft skills, required by the manufacturer.
“It is the huge investment in human resources that has proven to be a key player for Audi’s success. Hence our customer satisfaction has been growing by leaps and leaps since we launched this company,” said Lassade.
“In Qatar, we have reached the number one spot which means we are eating up share on other manufacturers and dealers, which is a huge success for the brand in Qatar. Audi has been successful in achieving record volumes on global level and we are month-on-month registering record sales,” said the MD.
What makes Audi popular in demand is a wide range of premium models available in a variety of engines and specifications. Audi stands out in the market with its state-of-the-art technology, quality and the fact that Audi is part of a larger group that has resources for Research and Development, said Lassade.
Quattro, the distinguished four-wheel drive technology, is unique to Audi. The latest technological innovation from Audi is the ‘Virtual Cockpits’ introduced recently in Audi TT and coming in the new Q7.
“The virtual cockpit is the state-of-the-art technology and I believe it is the future of every car for the next few years,” said the managing director.
He said A3 has proved to be a major success and Q7 continues to be their star seller. “The new A3 that we have launched has proven to be very successful within its segment that is growing globally and locally,” said Lassade.
In the SUV (Sport Utility Vehicle) segment, Audi offers Q7 which has been around for 8 years and they are launching a new model this year. There are also launching Q5 and Q3.
“The trend now is that the cars are getting smaller with smaller engines that are more efficient and powerful with turbo and other technologies. The SUVs too are becoming smaller. Our Q7 already has a market share which is quite important in the premium as well as the SUV segments,” explained the Q-Auto managing director.
About the new models, Lassade said Audi just launched the all-new TT, which is a niche but iconic model. An all-new Q7 will follow within a couple of months. The new A4 is coming out before R8 hits the market by mid next year.
“There are a lot of new models in the pipeline to be launched and this is the proof of health and success of the company,” the MD said.
He said the company promotes every model but the S and RS lines have been major revenue generators for Audi and for Q-Auto.
“We believe this segment is growing in Qatar and will continue to grow because of the [growing] purchasing power. These are high performance vehicles and you will see a lot of nice events and promotions around these performance models as we feel the local market is particularly interested in them,” revealed Lassade.
About the expansion of Q-Auto service centres and customer care, the managing director said besides the already available pick and drop services from home, showroom and service centre to all customers, the company is soon going to launch a new service centre that will have 70 working bases.
It is state-of-the-art big service centre equipped with latest technology and, they hope, it will prove to have a huge positive impact on their customer satisfaction statistics.
