Harman has been one of the pioneers in the audio industry and Harman’s JBL brand has been launching innovative products ever since its birth in the space.
With the main focus on the infotainment system, Harman in collaboration with Sahil Audio International today announced ‘JBL Autostage’ a premium OEM car audio system that is a complete car audio solution and is compatible with 95 per cent of all the cars that are out there on Indian roads.
JBL Autostage claims to be the first complete plug and play audio upgrade package, wherein you liberate yourself from the in-house audio system from the car manufacturer and experience the finest audio quality the industry has to offer.
The upgrade package will be offered in two versions, the first for Sedans and Hatchbacks called ‘Carstage’ and the other for SUVs – Sportstage. The Carstage has the peak power of 2000W and the Sportstage can handle the peak power of 3000W.
Harman India MD and country head M. Lakshminarayan says: “JBL Autostage is a revolutionary offering that displays Harman’s commitment to providing innovative, affordable and high quality audio products that have been designed exclusively for the Indian market. With our commitment to ‘Make in India’ we will deliver products that are not only world class but also come at the price that connects with the Indian audience.”
In an industry first, Indian consumers will get to upgrade their in-car audio experience with more ease both at the time of installation as well as at the time of payment, with this new audio solution. “We believe that this product will be a game changer and will help to further cement JBL’s position as a market leader in the car aftermarket category,” adds Lakshminarayan.
The OEM from JBL is one of the only approved aftermarket accessories of OEM’s that is available across 8,000 outlets. With approval from most of the car manufactures, the company is ready with the energy efficient amplifier capable to drive subwoofer. Being a plug and play product, the OEM’s don’t tamper with the wiring.
With a facility in Bhiwandi, Maharashtra the company is capable of an annual production of 50,000 units and has the capacity to upgrade to 150,000 units per annum with additional lines.
Providing a figure of less than Rs 2,000 crore in the audio car segment in this year, the car audio sector had a severe downturn with car manufacturers providing in-house car audio systems and with no choice to upgrade due to the warranty hassles.
The new range is priced at Rs 29,990. The company has tied up with 12 leading banks to provide 0 per cent EMI schemes starting with Rs 2,999 per month.
Speaking exclusively to AnimationXpress.com, Sahil Audio International CEO, Sahil Sani informs: “We recently launched a campaign with Arjun Kapoor and Parineeti Chopra targeting the youth launching close to 100 new headphones and the Bluetooth speakers during the Diwali season.”
He also expressed that the partnership with Harman has been a fruitful one with only a few ups and downs.
Speaking about Dolby Atmos’ recent announcement of entering the home media space, Sahil exults: “We always have the latest Dolby and DTS programs with our products and update the products with all the latest technology. All our new products will be updated with Dolby Atmos.”
With more than 25 million automobiles on the road equipped with Harman audio systems and reported sales of over $5.3 billion over a twelve month period ending 30 June, 2014; the Indian audience and the audio segment certainly ‘Just Got Loud!’