evo India Podcast

The Audi Q3 helped Audi India to become the first luxury car maker to breach that mark. In 2015, Audi hit 11,192 units. By 2020, that number was 1,693. The Q3 was the difference both times. Now the third-generation Audi Q3 is here, and Balbir Singh Dhillon, Brand Director of Audi India, sat down with Ed Sirish Chandran in Goa to talk through everything.This conversation covers the complete Audi India story, how a single car can make or break a luxury brand, what goes into a product launch three to four years before the first key is handed to a customer, and what Audi's most ambitious product offensive in India looks like from the inside. The Q9 is confirmed for India, with Balbir explaining why it will not just be a niche halo car but a volume model. The Q7 is coming, the work is on, and announcements will happen. The Q6 e-tron pricing problem, why CBU pricing killed resale values and what Audi learned from it is addressed directly. The India-EU FTA duty structure is explained in full — 35 per cent to 30 per cent on ICE and hybrid cars above the import price threshold, 2,500 non-homologated cars split across the entire VW Group including Audi, Porsche, Bentley and Skoda, and why rupee depreciation may absorb much of the benefit before it reaches customers.Balbir also talks about the pricing war in the entry luxury segment — nobody wins it, but everyone has to fight it. Pre-owned luxury cars as the strategy to widen Audi's customer base — from seven showrooms in 2020 to 27 today, selling one pre-owned car for every new car. Running Audi India through COVID without letting a single person go. The Audi RS model he most regrets not bringing to India. And the car he loved most — the R8, which customers still call him about.

This weekend on the evo India podcast we are digging deep into everything you might want to know about hybrids. Where did the story start? Was the Indian government really ahead of its time in its introduction of the FAME policy? Why was it short-lived? What’s the scene like and why the immediate future is going to be all about the hybrid car. All these, and answers to more.We start at the beginning with a quick run through of a 20-year map of how the Indian automotive market has shaped up. From being 70% petrol dominated in 2006 to the diesel domination of ten years ago to the rapid decline of diesel and the rise of alternatives, including EVs.The plan was to transition to hybrids before a pure EV future but the Indian government jumped a step. The net result was the rise o EVs but incredibly, in spite of the E20 confusion and tax benefits, the EV market is still small and penetration remains in single digits. Plagued by inadequate charging infrastructure and strange norms in certain parts of the country. Despite hybrids now not only working at the bottom and middle of the value chain but also at the top with incredible performance cars.So, if we don’t want a diesel but want low running costs and emissions (an Achilles’ heel in the diesel story) then incredibly enough CNG appears as a viable alternative. We wrap this up with a buyer’s guide that will hopefully help you decide. But before we pull the curtains we also take a look at the proposed CAFE III norms and what it means for the Indian automobile industry.Agree or disagree with us? Let us know in the comments below.

Mitsubishi sold its last car in India in January 2020. Four years later, a post about the Pajero got 4,000 likes and 80 comments in four hours. That is the Mitsubishi story in India — great products, massive goodwill, zero strategy.In this episode of the evo India Podcast, Sirish Chandran and Aninda Sardar go through the complete Mitsubishi India journey. The Lancer that arrived in 1998 with independent rear suspension on a rally-derived chassis and beat the Honda City in every handling test — just not in engine feel. The Mitsubishi Cedia that shared its platform with the Evo 6 and 7. And the chairs are actually from the rally car that Sirish drove. The Pajero whose two-tone red-and-white paint job was not a design choice — the paint booth at the Tiruvallur facility was too small to fit the whole car, so the doors were painted separately. The Pajero Sport, which had more power and more torque than the Toyota Fortuner, cost ₹5 lakh more and never had a chance. The Mitsubishi Outlander had column-mounted paddle shifters borrowed from rally cars, a Rockford Fosgate sound system, and a CVT gearbox that killed it. And the Evo 10 — India's most beloved performance car, the one that beat the Mercedes-AMG CLA45 in a back-to-back comparison and upset Mercedes considerably in the process — priced at ₹60 lakh and sold in numbers so small Mitsubishi had to discount the remaining units into oblivion.Sirish also talks about the five days he spent waiting in Coimbatore for Mitsubishi to bring the Evo 10 to the track, his Cedia rally car that gave him the foundation for everything he knows about car dynamics, and the honest verdict on whether Mitsubishi will ever come back to India.0:00 Precap0:33 Introduction: Mitsubishi's journey in India2:09 The history of Hindustan Motors and the JV with Mitsubishi7:12 History of the Mitsubishi Lancer10:14 Mitsubishi's motorsport history10:52 Sirish's memories of the Mitsubishi Lancer12:35 Mitsubishi Lancers rallying in India17:01 Mitsubishi Lancer Invex18:22 Mitsubishi Lancer stopped and in came Cedia26:13 The arrival of Mitsubishi Pajero29:28 The Mitsubishi and Jeep connection30:45 The variants of the Mitsubishi Pajero34:56 Mitsubishi Pajero Sport35:37 The moment when the Montero was stopped and reintroduced36:22 The missed opportunity at a Fortuner rival38:01 Mitsubishi Outlander41:31 evo India's own Mitsubishi Lancer EVO X48:42 Mitsubishi has an India website50:11 The sad ending to the Mitsubishi story in India51:22 Mitsubishi in the Renault-Nissan alliance could bring the Pajero back53:14 Mitsubishi and TVS tie-up

Mahindra has just unveiled its Global Pickup - the Scorpio Lifestyler (just Lifestyler in international markets). But the lifestyle pickup phenomenon has not really caught on in the last 19 years; Mahindra thumbstarted the segment way back in 2007 with the Scorpio Getaway. Since then we have had the Tata Xenon, Isuzu D-Max and V-Cross and of course the Toyota Hilux. Toyota, in fact, just launched the updated Hilux. But the segment remains at less than 5,000 units a year. Editorial Director Sirish Chandran and Senior Editor Aninda Sardar dive deep into the pickup story in India. In this episode:•⁠ ⁠What the Mahindra Scorpio Lifestyler is•⁠ ⁠Where the pick up story started•⁠ ⁠Remembering the Tata Mobile and what happened to it•⁠ ⁠The Scorpio Getaway story•⁠ ⁠Mahindra pick ups in the international market•⁠ ⁠Limitations of the Getaway, revealed to Sirish by an international cricketer•⁠ ⁠The Isuzu pick up story and why it failed to make a dent•⁠ ⁠The aftermath of pandemic and emission norms•⁠ ⁠GST and registration plate challenges for the pickup segment •⁠ ⁠The flourishing commercial pickup story•⁠ ⁠Can the lifestyle segment in India be cracked at all, and who can do it

Volkswagen CEO Thomas Schäfer sat down exclusively with evo India and confirmed it — the Volkswagen compact SUV is coming to India next year.Thomas Schäfer also addresses VW's electrification roadmap for India — a localised EV platform is a must for CAFE compliance and the group is actively working on what that looks like. CNG is back under consideration. Diesel is not ruled out — the FTA makes it viable for certain models. On the FTA, Schäfer confirms Volkswagen has already exported from India to over 40 markets, including Mexico. The last time the GTI arrived in India it sold out in minutes. On partnerships with Indian manufacturers — discussions are happening; they are serious, and nothing is closed yet. 0:00 Introduction: Volkswagen CEO Thomas Schäfer0:23 Views on VW's India 2.0 1:07 When does Volkswagen's Kylaq launch?1:56 Differentiation in the Kylaq and the VW subcompact SUV3:26 VW's Electrification roadmap for India?5:02 VW cars in India to get CNG and diesel?6:05 VW's strategy on the India-EU FTA?7:10 Will India get more VW GT and GTI cars?7:56 Addressing rumors about partnerships in India8:57 What do the next 5 years look like for the VW brand in India?