Move over Mumbai and Delhi, new Indian markets in smaller cities have now caught super-luxury car makers by surprise. Cash-rich customers from cities such as Ahmedabad, Bhubaneshwar, Pune, Kochi, Coimbatore, Chandigarh and Ludhiana are no longer ogling at Lamborghini, Jaguar-Land Rover, Mercedez and Audi. They are increasingly lapping up the Rs one crore-plus offerings from these global giants.
For Italian super-luxury sports car maker Lamborghini, cities like Ahmedabad, Kolkata and Bhubaneshwar have collectively put up sales figures of six, five and two units respectively in the last six months, wiping off the perception of the metro-luxury kinship. These figures are significant because the Volkswagen-owned brand sold 16 units in 2014 as against 22 in 2013. It has sold 110 cars in the country till date.
Other luxury car giants like Audi and Mercedes-Benz that also offer super-luxury models have been witnessing healthy sales figures coming from such small markets of the country.
Cities like Kochi, Coimbatore and Hyderabad have contributed the highest sales numbers for the super-luxury cars like Audi R8, A8L, RS7 and the likes in the past few months, said a senior Audi India official.
Eberhard Kern, MD & CEO, Mercedes-Benz India, told dna, "Markets like Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala are fast emerging. However, Mumbai and Delhi, especially the National Capital Region, remain one of the strongest markets in terms of sale volumes for the manufacturers."
This holds true to many other brands selling super-luxury cars in the country as well. For instance, Mercedes-Benz's total sales from regions other than Delhi and Mumbai stand at around 60 percent.
Motivated by the numbers from smaller cities, most super-lux automobile manufacturers are devising strategies to tap these fast growing markets. They are leaving no stone unturned in reaching out to smaller cities across India that they believe have a lot of potential and aspiration.
For instance, Lamborghini plans to expand its reach and penetrate into tier II and III cities by making regular visits through various marketing events in cities like Pune, Kochi, Chennai, Hyderabad, Chandigarh and Ludhiana.
It also plans to conduct city-wise demos in the vicinity of the prospects by way of brunch drives, giving them the experience of being a part of Lamborghini. One such drive was recently held at the Aamby Valley City in Maharashtra. "We push for a brunch drive at least once a quarter from each dealer, which makes it 12 drives a year. So far, we have done it successfully in Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru. Next leg would be in Chennai, Ahmedabad and Hyderabad very soon," said Pavan Shetty, head of operations, Lamborghini India.
On the other hand, Audi India plans to expand its network footprint to 70 in 2015. Speaking of expanding its network specifically in North-East region, Joe King, head, Audi India, said, "People of North-East – especially in cities like Tezpur, Gangtok, Dhanbad, Bokaro etc – want to be driven in style and luxury. We are reaching out to the discerning customers across the seven sister states through the recently-opened Audi Guwahati."
The company also plans to open a new showroom in Rajkot soon. Audi India, at the moment has 39 showrooms across the country selling high-end cars.
Rival Mercedes-Benz also is focusing a lot on the Eastern market with market entry in Jamshedpur and Bhubaneshwar apart from having a strong market presence in Kolkata.
Lamborghini recently opened its third dealership in the country in Bengaluru in November making its presence in three cities, the others being Mumbai and Delhi.
The companies are not only actively expanding their network but also aggressively innovating with their products. "We intend to launch 10 new varieties this year, catering to every segment; we also have a surprise for this month." said Joe King of Audi India. After the successful launch of its latest model, the Huracan, the Italian automaker is also exploring the possibility of launching its sports utility in India soon.
While the aspirational level across India is on a steady ascent, there is one factor that is slowing down their sales in India. Car makers unanimously point out to the whopping 167% import duty for completely knocked down (CKD) imports of super-luxury cars in the country.
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