The luxury car market seems to have remained unscathed by the financial turmoil with buyers lining up to place orders.
Companies such as Mercedes, BMW, Audi, Porsche, Rolls Royce and Bentley have recorded fantastic growth in recent months, especially when the global meltdown has taken a toll on buying sentiment.
For instance, Porsche India is more than hopeful of doubling its sales this year to 200 cars and sports utility vehicles (SUVs) from a mere 101 last year. The company believes that special finance initiatives through exclusive tie-ups with banks will further push the demand.
Rod Wallace, managing director, Porsche India, said, "There is a lot of pent up demand in the market, which was not fulfilled earlier due to the absence of companies which makes those cars. We will be launching two more models next year."
Porsche India sells Boxter, Cayman, 911 and Cayenne models, priced around Rs 50 lakh to Rs 2 crore, in the domestic market. The company has decided to add 5 more dealers – in Punjab, and in the cities of Hyderabad, Bangalore and Chennai – in the next few months.
In addition, the company will sign an agreement with a finance company in the next two weeks to come out with competitive rates and installment schemes. This will be in addition to finances from ICICI and HDFC banks.
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Daimler India, which owns and sells Mercedes-badged cars, has reported a growth of 61 per cent in sales with one-fifth of sales coming from the most expensive range – the S Class. In all, the company sold 1,805 units during the first six months of the current year.
Similarly, another German marquee, BMW, has reported a two-fold jump in sales at 1,460 units as against 736 during the same month last year. The push is primarily a result of the company's move for local assembly and gradual expansion of dealership network beyond the metros. The company sells 7 models in India in the price bracket of Rs 27 lakh to Rs 1.3 crore.
Analysts say that the demand has been coming from high net worth individuals to whom banks or other financial institution do not refrain from lending. Further, many of these transactions take place in cash. The yearly sales numbers of luxury or sports cars when compared to other countries are small but growing at a steady pace, believed a city-based auto expert. Rolls Royce, the legendary British brand, sells 3 models priced around Rs 3 crore each in India. The company has seen a surge in demand compared with last year as total bookings stood at 15-16 units as against 11 last year.
Sharad Kachalia, director, Navnit Motors (dealer of Rolls Royce), said, "Last year, India was allotted 11 units, and this year the number surged to 15-16 units. If demand persists, India may get 18-20 cars next year."
Similarly Bentley, another premium brand in the international market, has allotted 25 units to its Indian outfit. The management, though refused to give out actual sales for the year, is confident of selling all the cars before the end of the year.