Luxury Cars in India

Image courtesy: Reuters/Jacky Naegelen

Ferrari, the famous and (usually) fire engine red super sports car will be in India soon. And the Italian super sports carmakers will be directly importing models like the 458 Italia, the 599, the 612 as well and the California, all in the price range of Rs. 1.5 crore and above.

Just last month, Bugatti brought to India the country’s most expensive car, the Veryon 16.4 Grand Sport  and Lamborghini zoomed in in June. Also, other luxury car manufactures like Porsche, Mercedes-Benz, Jaguar and BMW have been busy launching new models in the country in the last few months.

Does this mean we’re seen a boom in the luxury car segment in India?

Debashis Mitra, director of sales and marketing for Mercedes-Benz thinks so. He says, “When we launched 'Proven Exclusivity', our pre-owned car venture in New Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad and Chennai, the response was overwhelming as we achieved a transaction of over 200 cars in less than two months. Sales have been phenomenal, so there is definitely a market for luxury cars in India.”

In light of Ferrari’s proposed arrival in India, Ashish Chordia, director of Porsche India told the Times of India that the sports car seller’s entry will help expand the market for ultra luxury cars further, especially considering that the economy is doing well and since people are open to "engage in luxury buys."

So, Who’s Buying?

Although India is not quite up there on the list when it comes to luxury car sales, we’re definitely catching up. And surprisingly it’s not just the older generation that’s spending lakhs of rupees on these luxury cars.

Suhas Kadlaskar from Mercedes-Benz India says he has seen an increase in sales because more, younger professionals are looking to buy luxury cars. “When we introduced the C-Class and E-Class cars a couple of months ago, it enabled us to reach out to a lower age group of customers. The average age of our customers has come down to 35-40 years, which is quiet a good turning point from the earlier age of 50 years onwards. There are a lot of young professionals and entrepreneurs who are buying luxury cars and this affluent segment is boosting our sales volume.”

Amey Tingare, marketing manager of Jaguar India concurs with Kadlaskar’s observations. He says, “Everyone wants to see a variety (of cars) and as incomes are growing, so is the demand for cars. And it’s good to see that we have customers in the age group of 28-30.”