Chandigarh, April 25
Buying luxury cars is only for the nouveu rich, the classy in trying to have an edge over those with the newly acquired wealth, are going in for customised
luxury cars.
From ordering a particular brand of alloy wheels to getting a top of the line music system, from panaromic sunroofs to different trims and interiors, the well-heeled in the region are living it up like never before. With the availability and rise in sales of luxury cars in Punjab, they have devised a new way of ‘living it better than the Jones’.
Atul Aggarwal, managing director of Audi showroom in Chandigarh, says 50 per cent of the cars sold by them so far in Punjab are custom-made for their clients. “Since we started our operations in the region, we have received orders for 60 cars, mainly from Chandigarh and Ludhiana. While we have already delivered 30 cars, the remaining cars are being readied with customised fittings to suit the clients,” he says.
It may be noted that the cheapest version of Audi is priced at Rs 26 lakh (A 4 model), while the most expensive variant of the company, A 8, is priced at Rs 1.5 crore. However, the customers do not mind spending a couple of additional lakhs to get a more custom-made vehicle. “It could be soft leather upholstery, change in interiors, a panaromic sunroof or a contrast trim. Majority of customers want to change the music system and alloy
wheels,” says Aggarwal, without disclosing the cost of getting these customised facilities in the car.
Audi India managing director, Benoit Tiers, who was in town to inaugurate the Audi showroom here, says,“While the car market in India saw an overall growth of 9 per cent last year, the luxury car
market has grown by 176 per cent”.
BMW, which, too, offers a wide range of these customised services to its clients, has had almost all its clients buying the top-end X 5 and 7 series model, going in for either a Logic 7 sound system, night vision, head up display, adaptive lights or active steering. Sachit Passi, managing director of Krishna Automobiles, the distributors of BMW, says that in the first year of its operations, they have sold 250 cars in the region. “The lowest version in the 7 series is priced at Rs 74 lakh, while the top-end version is priced at
Rs 1.5 crore.
“Almost all those who have bought the 7 series or X 5, spend an average of Rs 6 lakh on getting these customised services,”
he adds.
