Aston Martin Arrives in India

Aston Martin joins Ferrari S.p.A, Maserati S.p.A and Volkswagen AG's Bugatti and Lamborghini units in India with the U.K.-based company Friday launching three models for the country's sports car enthusiasts.

"India represents a new opportunity for us," said Michael van der Sande, chief commercial officer at Aston Martin.

The company will sell the V8 Vantage, priced at 15.50 million rupees, the Rapide at 21.5 million rupees and the One-77 for 200 million rupees in Asia's third-largest economy that has already prompted Daimler AG, BMW AG, Audi AG, Bentley and Jaguar to introduce luxury cars for India's rising number of millionaires and billionaires.

"A decision to bring the Aston Martin brand to India is driven by a strong level of interest and enthusiasm from potential customers in an emerging luxury market."

Aston Martin on Friday starts a dealership in Mumbai and will open a second dealership in New Delhi by the end of May.

Expanding sales in India and China have provided global auto makers new market opportunities with business in Europe and the U.S.--their primary markets--stagnating.

Aston Martin was in 2007 sold to Kuwait's Investment Dar Co. K.S.C. and Adeem Investment by its erstwhile owner Ford Motor Co.

Will you spend Rs20 crore on Aston Martin?

Aston Martin announced that they will be entering India which is the one of the fastest growing markets for automobile in the world. The will be launching three new models in this country. Aston Martin, a British luxury sports car manufacturer joins the growing list of Lamborghini, Bugatti, Maseratti and Ferrari who have started selling their products in India to a big section of sports car enthusiasts.

Aston Martin’s chief commercial officer, Michael van der Sande, said that India is a new opportunity for them. This automobile company will be offering V8 Vantage which costs 15.5 million Indian rupees or USD $348,341, One-77 which costs 200 million rupees or $4.5 million and Rapide which costs 21.5 million rupees or $483,146.



Lalit Choudhary from Performance Cars, the official dealership for Aston Martin in Mumbai said that India is a big market and it is growing rapidly. Hence it cannot be ignored. Aston Martin is a very expensive car brand and over their past history of 97 years, they have sold just 5,000 cars to the richest in Asia, United States and Europe. This company is expecting to see one quarter or their cars to the Middle Eastern and Asian countries over the next 5 years.

Donnelly refused to reveal any details about the number of cars they are planning to sell. A second dealership will be opened at New Delhi by May. A lot of automobile makers are looking at Chinese and Indian markets to see their products as their Europe and US opportunities have started to dry up.

Aston Martin was a company found in 1914 and the inclusion of showroom in Mumbai increases the global dealership network to 134 dealers in 42 countries.

Frankfurt Motor Show: Lamborghini Reventon in pictures

Top 10 Most Expensive Cars of the World

If you love cars and everything about them, then this write-up is just the prescribed one for you to read. Here you'll find an eclectic list of the top ten most expensive cars in the world.

These cars aren't just rare. They are beautiful, extreme, powerful and sometimes in avant-garde ways that mainstream cars can't follow. Their top speeds set records. Their technology is pioneering, and affordable to the people with deep set of pockets with enough moolah. While, when the richest of the rich can posses these super cars, we still can drool thinking about them right?


They’re Luxurious, They’re Fast ... and they are World’s Most Priced

Bugatti Veyron
The legendary Bugatti Veyron tops the list of the world’s most expensive street legal car available in the market today at $1,700,000. It is the fastest accelerating car reaching 0-60 in 2.6 seconds and the second fastest car after SSC Ultimate Aero at 407 kph.

Lamborghini Reventon
The second place goes to the Lamborghini Reventon that debuted at the 2007 Frankfurt Auto Show. This is the most powerful and the most expensive Lambo ever built priced at $1,600,000. It takes 3.3 seconds to reach 60 mph and has a top speed of 356 km/h. Its rarity, limited to only twenty units, and slick design are the reasons why it is so expensive and costly to own. It is said that the exterior styling of this supercar was inspired by the fastest of airplanes.

McLaren F1
The McLaren F1 takes the third place with a price tag of $970,000. This was, in fact, the fastest and most expensive car in 1994. Even though it was built 15 years ago, it has an unbelievable top speed of 386 km/h and takes just 3.2 seconds to reach 60 mph. The McLaren F1 established its place in super car history as the world's fastest production road car. Described by many as the finest driver's car ever built, the McLaren F1 excelled both on the road and the race track. Although the production of McLaren stopped in 1998, it remains as one of the fastest production cars ever made in terms of sheer top speed.

Ferrari Enzo
This is the only Ferrari that has made it to the list. It is priced at $670,000 and is the most famous supercar ever built. Named after Ferrari’s founder Enzo Ferrari, this car was built to commemorate Ferrari’s first World Championship of the new Millennium in 2002. The Enzo has a top speed of 348.8 km/h and can reach 60 mph in 3.4 seconds. Only four hundred units of this supercar were ever manufactured.

Pagani Zonda C12 F
The Pagani Zonda C12 F comes from a small independent car company called Pagani, in Italy that manufactures roughly ten cars per year. Apart from being the fifth expensive car in the world, this Pagani Zonda also holds the fifth position for the fastest car. This supercar promises a top speed of 346 km/h and it can reach 60mph in 3.5 seconds. The price tag of $667,321 is attached to Pagani Zonda C12 F.

SSC Ultimate Aero
Priced at $654,400, the SSC Ultimate Aero begs the sixth place. The SSC Ultimate Aero might be low on price!, compared to the other super cars mentioned above in the page. But don’t just let the price fool you as it is the fastest of street legal cars in the world with a top speed of 414.31 km/h and reaching 60mph in 2.7 seconds. Shelby Supercars built only 25 specimens of this car which has a found a place in the Guinness World Records for its invincible speed.

Saleen S7 Twin Turbo
The Saleen S7 Twin Turbo snatches the third rank for the fastest car in the world. It has a top speed of 402 km/h and it can reach 60mph in 3.2 seconds. This true supercar is available for $555,000. The Saleen S7 Twin Turbo is America's first exotic supercar with mid-engine configuration.

Koenigsegg CCX
The eighth position is claimed by Koenigsegg CCX that can be yours for $545,568. The CCX can accelerate 60 mph in 3.1 seconds. The Swedish car, currently at the forth place in the fastest car standings, is giving its best shot to emerge as the fastest car of the world. It has a top speed of more than 395 km/h. But, according to Koenigsegg, the CCX has a top speed of 417 km/h, which has not been officially verified.

Mercedes Benz SLR McLaren Roadster
This sports car is quoted at $495,000. A GT supercar, the SLR McLaren is the fastest automatic transmission car in the world that can achieve 332 km/h. The SLR McLaren Roadster can accelerate 60 mph in 3.8 seconds. The Mercedes Benz SLR McLaren Roadster is a luxurious convertible with a powerful engine. It is jointly developed by Mercedes-Benz and McLaren Automotive.

Porsche Carrera GT
This Porsche come with a price sticker of $440,000 and is placed in the tenth position. It has all the qualities of a supercar with dynamic stability control and a top speed of 330 km/h. It can achieve 60mph in 3.9 seconds. The Porsche Carrera GT applies the absolute calibers of a true racing car to offer an unprecedented driving feeling on the road. The first Porsche Carrera GT went on sale in the United States on January 31, 2004 and 604 units were sold till Porsche discontinued production of the Carrera GT due to changing airbag regulations in the US.

Lamborghini sees India as big market for future

Iconic Italian sports car maker Lamborghini has big expectations from India and has identified it as a “big market for the future”. In India since 2006, the company is now working on expansion plans and is confident that the rapid economic growth and new-emerging billionaires would make India one of its strong markets in the coming years.

“India is a big market for the future for Lamborghini. It is a big country and the attitude of buyers is now changing and they are becoming more open to buying ultra luxury high-style brands like ours,” says Enrico Maffeo, global director of sales and customer service for Lamborghini, told TOI.



Lamorghini, famous for its raging bull logo, sells the Gallardo and the Murcielago sports cars in India that are also available in their various variants like the lightweight Gallardo Superleggera and the convertible Gallardo Spyder, all of which retail for a hefty Rs 3 crore-plus.



Maffeo, a regular visitor to India, said high price was not much of a deterrent for their target customers who choose a Lamborghini for its exquisite design, high-profile branding and uncompromising performance. The company, which currently retails in India through its only dealership Exclusive Motors of Delhi, hopes to sell ten of its famed cars here this year. “Our business is not that much about volume. It is more of brands and desirability. Our plan is to create brand awareness, and the sales will follow,” he said.

Maffeo said as the company expands in India, Lamborghini would also increase its distribution network here. “We plan to have a new dealership in Mumbai next year and follow it up with one in Hyderabad in 2010,” he said.

But just when it looks to expand and grow in India, it also faces competition from rival like Ferrari. Alarmingly, Ferrari may get assistance from domestic heavyweight Tata Motors, the joint venture partner of Ferrari owner Fiat, when it decides to come to India. Maffeo said any new brand had to go step-by-step in any market. “And don’t forget. We are part of the Volkswagon group that already has presence in India through brands like Volkswagon, Skoda, Audi and Bentley.”

Volkswagen confident of doing well in India

"The Nano is a unique answer to the needs and aspirations of the vast majority of Indians. I think it's a wonderful move from the Tatas to give India its own version of 'people's car'." It isn't often that one is accustomed to hearing such effusive praise from a marketer, especially when the object of praise happens to have been concocted in a rival boardroom.

But Detlef Wittig, executive vice-president and worldwide head of sales & marketing, Volkswagen, isn't shy of appreciating a smart idea and is visibly impressed with Tata Motors' disruptive innovation. Wittig adds that Volkswagen - which created the original people's car, the iconic Beetle - did toy with the idea of a similar 'price proposition-based' product, but dropped the idea as European markets are quite different from the Indian one: and doing something exclusively for India to replace the motorcycle market isn't one of the company's objectives at this moment.

That said, the Indian market - where the group is investing close to Rs 3,600 crore - is obviously high priority for the Volkswagen Group, which owns seven marquee brands that include Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, Seat, Skoda and the flagship Volkswagen brand. Of the lot, Audi, Skoda and Volkswagen are already in India, and in the first six months of 2008, the group recorded the highest growth in volume sales from the country (69%), as compared to other emerging markets like Russia (63% growth), Ukraine (50%), China (23%) and Brazil (22%).

In contrast, European sales had a marginal 1.3% increase, while sales in home turf Germany went up 4%. And with India billed to become the fourth largest car market (as against its current position of No 13) over the next 10 years, it isn't surprising that Volkswagen wants to get its India act together, despite having been a late entrant. Wittig clearly has the opportunities and challenges in mind, even as he admits that the company's entry into India was delayed due to "uncertain auto policies, the group's inability to find a suitable JV partner for a long time and the absence of the right product".

But Wittig wants to put the past behind him and Volkswagen, and focus on the future strategy instead: and that includes putting together a crack marketing team under KK Swamy (managing director & vice-president, Volkswagen India), adding more dealerships and introducing new models in India. And, of course, the launch of the Beetle next year is expected to go a long way in helping Volkswagen "find an expression" in the Indian market, as Wittig puts it. "If you have to build a brand, you have to highlight its roots, else you are just a commodity," he adds. "We want to be more than that. The Beetle will work towards enhancing the brand heritage of Volkswagen in the country." Volkswagen is betting on the Beetle's global 'cult' status as a means of pitching itself to Indian consumers.

"Beetle's followers have great memories attached to it. Punch buggy (a car sighting game generally played by young children in which participants hit each other upon sight of a Volkswagen Beetle) is only a sign of the 'fun car' status the Beetle enjoys around the world," says Wittig, adding that India being a young country, it certainly has space for the car.

Yet, the Beetle cannot be expected to drive volumes for Volkswagen: rather, it will serve as the master key in Volkswagen's plan to secure 10% of the burgeoning Indian market within five years (currently, Volkswagen has less than 1% share of the Indian market). Incidentally, Volkswagen entered China in 1984 and has been able to grow significantly: in the first six months of 2008, the company recorded sales of 531,600 cars, breaching for the first time the 500,000-units mark in China over a six-month period.

The moot point is whether Volkswagen has squandered the opportunity to make a similar mark in India, given its late entry. Wittig concedes that India's potential had not been correctly estimated back at that point in time. "Yes, we are late in coming into this market, but may be not too late," he says, pointing out that even some of Volkswagen's European competitors, who came in earlier, "haven't been tremendously successful either".

Wittig says that the company has adopted a top-down strategy for India. Case in point: Skoda, which is a budget brand in many countries, but opted to enter India with the premium Skoda Octavia. Even the Fabia is priced at a premium when compared to rivals occupying the same hatchback segment. "We launched the Passat, which targets the upper end of the market. Then we brought in the Jetta, which is one step down, and now we'll soon have the Polo - not the one the world knows of, but its derivative that would fit in the Indian market," says Wittig.

Given the record sales achieved by Volkswagen in the first six months of 2008 on the back of demand in India, Russia and China, emerging markets are the area of focus for the company. While Wittig finds the situation in China and India as being very interesting, he is sold on Russia - the nation is all set to become Europe's biggest car market by next year. He says: "The dynamics of the Russian market had gone unnoticed, much like India." However, considering the demographics and increasing purchasing power here, he feels India is all set to be among the Top 5 car markets in the world in coming years.

Defining the key value propositions for each of the Group's marquee brands - Audi, Skoda and Volkswagen - Wittig says that Audi is sophisticated and clearly stands for luxury. "It is meant for powerful people who are sporty, like to be leaders, like to show off, though not necessarily aggressive in their manners." Volkswagen, on the other hand, is for those with average income, but with a penchant for showing off. "It may not fit in where a Nano does, but is affordable for people who are looking for more value," he says. On the other hand, Skoda drivers are more rational in their thinking. "With the Skoda Fabia, we scaled down from the Rs 1.5-million bracket (Rs 15 lakh) to Rs 6 lakh to cater to this audience," says Wittig, who has spent well over three decades at Volkswagen.

The group soon plans roll out the Up!, which the carmaker hopes will go down well, given the inflationary trends and the recession afflicting the auto sector. However, Wittig feels the impact of the recession is not a cause for worry in emerging markets as much as it is in the US and Europe. "The recession there has caused companies to concentrate on compact cars, less fuel consumption and, eventually, hype about hybrid cars. There is a shift in production and engine mix in Europe.

However, emerging markets are too dynamic, giving everyone a lot of room for growth," he says, adding that India, particularly, is more interesting than any other market as the situation does not change overnight like in China. "You are not dependant on the US situation. I have seen India since the mid-90s and the strength you have gained is admirable," he says. It's a strength that Wittig and Volkswagen would like to juice to the fullest.

Luxury cars fly in ‘ recession- hit’ India

The Luxury car market in India is growing like never before. Sample this: In the first six months sales of luxury cars have almost doubled.

Mercedes

Mercedes India has sold 1,892 cars in the country compared to 2,491 cars sold last year.

BMW

BMW has sold 1,323 cars in the first five months, which is almost equal to the 1,387 cars the company sold during the full last year.

Volkswagen

The Volkswagen group has managed to sell 810 premium cars of its two brands Audi (470 units) and Volkswagen (340 units).

Audi

And Porsche is aiming to double the tally of its car sales this year by selling over 200 premium cars.

Clearly, financial sector meltdown and the consequent wealth erosion hardly seem to be dissuading buyers of high-end cars in India, even as the global luxury car makers pump in huge resources to lure the Indian customers.

“If you look at the segment we are operating in, price sensitivity of the product is not an issue,” says Kurt Rippholz, head, communications, Volkswagen India.

To this Dr. Wilfried Aulbur, chief executive officer and managing director, Mercedes India, adds, “Back in 1995 when we started operations in India, we were optimistic about the potential that India held and we are now convinced about it.” And why not?

According to the 2008 Wealth Report by Merrill Lynch Cap Gemini there are around 1,23,000 millionaires in US dollar terms in India. Also, the country has a significant number of young, rich and enterprising people in smaller cities who are spoilt for choice. And manufacturers are strutting their products to lure them.

Bentley

So, the top- end luxury cars such as Bentley and Lamborghini, which cost upwards of Rs 2 crore, and that can only sell around 25 and 10 cars, respectively, for exclusivity sake, have industrialist buyers queuing up — for four to six months — to get their cars. But it’s the entry- and mid- segment luxury cars that are selling like hot cakes among the class aspirants.

Lamborghini

This year till June, Mercedes sold 1,000 C-Class cars ( Rs 25 lakh onwards). In fact, in March alone, it sold over a 100 Mercedes S-Class cars ( Rs 70 lakh onwards).

Maybach

BMW sold 666 cars of its 5 Series and 355 units of its Series 3 cars upto end- May this year.

BMW

Last year Audi sold 107 units of its Q7 model while Porsche sold around 90 cars of its Cayenne model. “Along with corporate sales that are pushing the sales of these premium cars, aspirational sales are fast picking up.

Interior of a Rolls Royce

Professionals in their thirties who have a global lifestyle and hail from smaller towns are the main customers in this segment,” says Aulbur. And to sell these new cars, companies are expanding their distribution network thick and fast. New dealerships are being set up in Tier II, III cities.

There is a sizeable population of Mercedes cars in cities such as Kolhapur, Ludhiana, Madurai, Coimbatore and Kochi.

Volkswagen, in its second phase of expansion opted for cities such as Hyderabad, Chandigarh and Ludhiana for their dealerships and Porsche is looking at potential new dealerships in Punjab. “We are trying to have 120 distribution dealerships in the next three years as we expect a growth of 250 per cent in the Indian auto market over a period of ten years,” says Kurt. And he is not alone; Audi is planning to take the tally to 11 dealerships from the existing seven by the end of the year.

Porsche

Porsche is looking at having nine dealerships by 2010 from the current two and is also looking at building a steady relationship with Indian customers. So, it’s zip, zap zoom time ahead for the luxury car market in India.