Arnage R hits a roadblock

The Rs 2.8 crore Bentley car fails homologation test.

UK-based Bentley Motors' plans to sell its super luxury car Arnage R in India seem to have hit a roadblock with the Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) declining to issue a homologation certificate to the Rs 2.8 crore car due to failure of one of its components.

This had been communicated to Bentley, owned by German automobile giant Volkswagen, though the carmaker had not responded to the queries raised by the country's premier testing body, ARAI director B Bhanot told Business Standard.

"No type approval certificate has been issued to Bentley for any model due to the failure of one of its components as per Central Motor Vehicle Regulations requirements," Bhanot said in response to an e-mail query.

On his part, Bentley's regional director (Middle East, Africa and India) Ian Gorsuch said, "The current status is that certification is still in process with one final test that will shortly be concluded. Our engineers are in regular contact, and working closely, with the officials of ARAI."

The Arnage R, one of the popular cars from the Bentley stables, was launched in the country last year. The company operates through dealerships in Delhi (Exclusive Motors) and Mumbai (Upaj Motors). Globally, Bentley cars compete with other luxury marquees like BMW-owned Rolls Royce and DaimlerChrysler's Maybach.

The government had relaxed rules for homologation requirement for imported cars earlier this year. Now, individual importers and companies under the Export Promotion Capital Goods (EPCG) Scheme, which import cars costing over $ 40,000 are only required to submit a certificate from the originating country certifying that the car meets European emission norms.

In addition, individuals who had owned the cars for over a year and were relocating their residence to India after two continuous years of stay abroad could now import their vehicles, the new rules notified by the directorate general of foreign trade said.