Automakers seeking Indian HNIs with mind-boggling price tags

If one automobile company is keen to haunt this country it has to be Rolls Royce Motor Cars. It sent in its Phantom before and now it’s the Ghost.Both cars are frightfully expensive with sinful price tags. But the British carmaker is unfazed. Production of the Ghost that costs more than Rs 2.5 crore has already begun at Goodwood and the first few cars will reach Indian shores in the second quarter of next year. Rolls Royce, which sells around 1000 cars every year, is planning to sell around 75 cars here next year. This isn’t surprising since led by India and China the Asia Pacific market is the fastest growing for the company with 22% contribution to its overall sales. This is not a lone case. Stuttgart-based premium automobile maker Porsche is keen on this market as well. A few weeks back, it launched its Rs 2.15-crore Panamera here. Says Rod Wallace, MD, Porsche India: “We have earmarked 50 Panameras for India this year but we seem to have underestimated the demand.” Porsche plans to sell around 200 cars in this market in 2010. The demand for luxury automobiles in this country has even got other premium carmakers queuing up with exciting and pricey offerings. Manufacturers such as Audi, Mercedes-Benz, Bentley and BMW have their best products on display. While Mercedes is lining up its grand tourer SLS AMG, Volkswagen is finally launching its cult car Beetle here. In the meanwhile, BMW has already launched two thrilling vehicles, the brutish crossover X6 and the sensuous roadster Z4 in this market. Though the German carmaker is not very bullish on volumes with these cars it feels that having them in showrooms here will enhance the brand appeal of the company. It sold 63 units of the X6 since its launch in July. Sales figures too have been quite encouraging for these manufacturers. Barring Mercedes-Benz, which reported a negative growth of nearly 9% in the April-October period over the corresponding period last year, BMW and Audi have been cruising along with growth rates of 24% and 40% respectively.
SUDEEP SINGH
PGDM III SEM
SEC-B