Hotelier Lalit Suri has a grand fleet of cars: A Lamborghini, a BMW 7 series, a Mercedes 320S, a Mercedes 280 SL sports car and an off-white Lexus four-wheel drive. Impressive, even by global standards.
In a throwback to the age of the Maharajas, well-heeled Indians have started buying the most expensive cars in the world. And they are prepared to fork out crores to drive around in their dream machines.
Suhas Kadlaskar, head of corporate affairs and finance at DaimlerChrysler India, says several of his dealers have asked him to bring the Mercedes Maybach based on consumer feedback.
Although the company is still looking at the car's prospects in India, it has been decided that the Maybach will carry a price tag of Rs 3 crore (Rs 30 million). Kadlaskar says he could sell around 10 of them a year in India.
The Volkswagen-owned Bentley, which can be yours for Rs 1.9 crore (Rs 19 million), has four confirmed orders from the country, while about a dozen more are under negotiation. More orders could follow.
Rahul Grover of Exclusive Motors, the south-east Asian dealer for Bentley, says he also expects five-star hotels to acquire the Arnage R, being launched shortly. No two cars of this family are the same.
"Hotels have Mercs, but they do not have a fleet of Bentleys yet. And that is not fair. In Dubai, the Al Burj hotel has a fleet of 26 Bentleys," says Grover.
Anand Mohan Gupta, marketing head of Fiat in India, recently spotted a yellow Ferrari zipping past in Mumbai. This took his Ferrari count in the country to two. His company recently gifted a red Ferrari to Sachin Tendulkar.
Given the price tag of Rs 1.5 crore (Rs 15 million), how many Ferraris can Gupta sell in the country if Fiat India decides to import and market the car?
"I cannot say. We have no plans to import the car by ourselves. But I do not think we can sell more than five a year. The Ferrari is part of an exclusive club, and it will remain that way," Gupta said.
Then there are the sub-Rs 1 crore (Rs 10 million) cars. DaimlerChrysler has its SL500 at an ex-showroom price of Rs 85 lakh (Rs 8.5 million). It hopes to sell 20 of these during the year.
Top-end Volvo models like the XC-90 and the S-80 will be available in the country in four months for Rs 55-60 lakh (Rs 5.5-6 million), according to sources at Modi Motors, a dealer of Volvo cars in India.
