Lambo rolls into India
Lamborghini has set up shop in India, offering up its Gallardo, Gallardo Spyder and Murcielago to the masses -- well, maybe not the masses, but at least 10 people, which is Lambo's sales goal for its first year there. Considering India has a population of 1.08 billion people, we're guessing Lamborghini will be able to reach its goal. In fact, the company has already sold six vehicles and has delivered two. Thanks to the accelerating economy, the company expects the number to reach 50-60 units per year in no time.
Lamborghini follows other luxury brands including Rolls Royce and Bentley, which sell the Phantom and Arnage in India, respectively.
[Source: Business Standard]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
porsche_lover 5:34AM (7/20/2008)
hey guys.. well m looking for some 1 who can get me buyers for porsche cars.. am in kuwait & want some 1 in india to find me people who are looking for used porsche... if so then do mail me on porsche_l@hotmail.com.. coz i compared the prices in india & seems to be very expensive.
pls note tht this aint a spam..
cheers.
roy
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Conor 7:19PM (7/18/2006)
um.....I care why?
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GDUB 8:10PM (7/18/2006)
Why would they bother. The roads are horrid even for normal cars. More than anything these are just status symbols. But silly in a country with so much poverty.
my opinion.
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HK 9:00PM (7/18/2006)
GDUB, India has the largest population in the middle class band, so to speak. They also have a lot of young billionaires who are willing to throw money on supercars. Besides Lambo has a great brand image which I think they should use to their advantage.
This may not lead to record sales initially but, in a few years time it will. By entering the market now, they can get an advantage over competitors like Ferrari who have not yet entered the market. I believe that the cost of entering the market now will also be a lot lower than if they did it in say about 5 years.
VW also seems to have a lot of interest in launching the VW brand in India. Audi is already there with the A4.
The problem that VW has is that due to the high import content of their cars, the Passat, which is the car they plan to launch, will be slightly more expensive than the C class which I don't think is a good idea. Mercedes is considered THE brand as far as luxury is concerned and competing in that price range would be a bold decision by VW. I hope they learnt that from the relatively low sales for the Skoda Superb which is pretty much a rebadged Passat.
BTW, the C-Class in India sells for about 62-65K USD. That is way to much for a C230. For a Passat, no freakin way.
I think they might be able to sell a decent number of Lambos, given the decent sales of the S-Class (which goes for 150k USD) and also the Maybach (which is close to 1.1 million USD). I think they have a market there.
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Jaymez 12:14AM (7/19/2006)
GDUB, those were my thoughts, as well. Then I thought about it and you could say the same thing about any other Lambo market. One guy spends hundreds of thousands of dollars on a car while the woman down the street has to put plastic bags over her feet because she can't afford a pair of boots for the winter.
Then again, that's life. It's full of the haves and have nots. I won't begrudge anyone for doing what I can only dream of. While Lambo designs no longer appeal to me, I'd still love to be able to say I *can* buy a new Lambo. I know I'd spend the money on items of equal excess.
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flow 8:18AM (7/19/2006)
Oh for crying out loud. GDUB - You're correct. Their roads are crap, so this car is useless in India.
The US, UK & most other places it's also useless. When you've broken the speed limit in 2nd gear, you quickly realise a car like this doesn't fit anywhere but a track or a select few countries that allow it.
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scopkins 8:27AM (7/19/2006)
I have a renter at my house who spent 6 months in India. According to his observation there is very little concern about the infrastructure. A pothole deep enough to disable out a comercial truck might go unaddressed for months or years for example. It's an attitude that has aparently permiated most of the country. That made me question the wisdom of selling a supercar endowed with barely enough ground clearance for American roads.
But on the other hand the folks in India with the access to a Lamborghini are people with power and influence. Maybe 3 or 4 of these sacred cows take a little damage. Maybe a little scraped Italian sheetmetal encourages a little improvement that the rest of the society can bennifit from as well. Maybe that attitude catches on.
That's all a bit optimistic, I know, but I always want to hope that something good can come out of something foolish.
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Raj 9:36AM (7/19/2006)
First of all, it's not Lambo's business to build good roads anywhere in the world, forget India. If there are buyers, they want to sell million dollar autos.
Second, anywhere in the world, only rich and powerful buys Lambo ... that's given.
Third Lambos are status symbols everywhere, not just India.
Fourth, India is the only country where poverty is actually on decline unlike USA where poverty is rising and middle class is shrinking. In any case, it takes years to root out poverty, especially in a democratic country.
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dilslips 11:02AM (7/19/2006)
If roads are a concern, then New jersey/ New york roads are equivalent to those in India.I had to replace my cars' bent rims and tie rods because of the pot holes in jersey...poverty wise..huh! u see so many expensive cars go by homeless people here..I wonder why no one raises a question then??
Why is that the hypocrisy sets in in everyones tone..once the country becomes anything else than USA/Europe..poverty is here too!!
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aliasfox 12:11PM (7/19/2006)
Well, part of the problem with the US is the practically non-existent saving rate (of which I am guilty of as well). When hard times hit (such as now with $3 and soon to be almost $4 gas), many people have little option but to start spending on their credit cards, leading to high interest rates and an eventual erosion of the middle class.
Of course, the US is probably one of the few nations where someone can be on welfare and still have cable TV and a cell phone.
As for the Lambo in India... I agree with #6. A growing supply of average and above average automobiles (and computers and other communication/transportation equipment) will increase the demand for usable roads and highways (and IT infrastructure) which will make India more attractive in the eyes of an investor, who, in turn, will build up the manufacturing and service industries, thus giving the poor a few more ways to break into the middle class...
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Tim C 5:59AM (7/20/2006)
I can't understand why anyone would sell a Lambo in the USA. The poverty there is awful. There are millions who can't get decent healthcare, senior citizens have to pay for their own drugs, Hurricane Katrina......Hypocrites.
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