Have money, will go on a luxe drive

India isn't all small cars and price-sensitive buyers. Luxury car makers seem to be having no less a good time catering to the growing number of millionaires here.
For the record, brands like Mercedes, BMW and Audi clocked an average 40% growth in 2010, as rising affluence and propensity to spend push more people to reach for expensive models.
"The new age buyer is no longer restricted to purchasing only on special occasions. They also yearn for luxury in mundane day-to-day activities. They demand the newest, latest, the most modern technologies and the most personalised service," said Debashis Mitra, director sales and marketing, Mercedes-Benz India.
"Government policies over the six years have become even more compliant toward the luxury car manufacturers," said Mitra.
The size of the luxury car segment —- with price tags starting around `25 lakh —- was around 15,000 units in 2010.
BMW sold 7,079 units last fiscal, compared with 6,753 units of Mercedes Benz and 3,982 units sold by Volkswagen Audi.

All this demand has started drawing in manufacturers of super premium cars, too. Over the past year or so, brands like Maserati, Ferrari, Aston Martin, Bugatti have introduced their most expensive and most premium models here. And despite high duty structure, these models have managed to sell decent numbers.
In 2010, Rolls-Royce sold more than 70 cars in India. Bentley, another British carmaker, sold around 55-60 units, while Lamborghini sold 50. Porsche, the German automaker, sold 131 cars.
The segment grew 35% in 2010 and is estimated to clock 40% this year.

"In the past few years, the high-end market has moved up dramatically. Companies like BMW and Audi have taken the market to a differentlevel. The mindset is also changing, earlier people did not want to flaunt in terms of luxury cars. Today luxury cars are not just limited to top2-3 cities, it has moved to semi-urban and small cities, too," said V G Ramakrishnan, director with Frost and Sullivan.