Audi to Merc, German carmakers drive luxury vehicle sales into high gear

2023 likely to be a record year for luxury car sales

It was not just about the moolah but also the mindset. Unverified legend has it that it took a Mercedes executive two years in the late 1990s to convince Ratan Tata, who was then the chairman of Tata Sons, to buy a Mercedes.

Naturally, the German maker of luxury cars, which came to India in 1994 in partnership with the Tata group, had a slow start. In a country taking its first ginger steps towards an open economy and the resulting prosperity, few had the money, and those who did, were reluctant to flaunt it.

In 2006, the luxury car