Imported cars still in demand

People are willing to pay for luxury cars, but Indian makes have no buyers

People are willing to pay for luxury cars, but Indian makes have no buyers

COMFORT ZONE: Sales of imported luxury cars have not been affected by recession

Recession-hit Bangaloreans may be forsaking Indian-made luxury cars but they haven't yet turned their backs on imported SUVs and MUVs.

"I'm looking for a Lexus," said Suraj, a visitor to a used-car outlet. "I prefer imported cars because they will fetch me a fair price even if I want to sell. It's not the same in the case of Indian luxury cars."

It's customers like Suraj who offer a ray of hope to beleaguered used-car dealers.

Doing well

u00a0"Indian cars at outlets have no buyers," said Shivanna, an auto consultant. "Their prices are almost half the showroom price. Since the interest rate on such cars is high compared to loans on new cars, people prefer new cars. Hence, business at used car outlets is run by imported car buyers."

"Sales are severely hampered," agrees Yashosagar, owner of B P Somu and Brothers, a used imported car outlet at N R Square. "But the exception is in the case of imported luxury cars."

Used car dealers, who earlier sold more than one imported car every week, are now selling one car every 15 days. But sale of Indian luxury cars has come down from 10 cars to one car in 15 days.

"Prices of Indian luxury cars have severely dipped due to a slump in demand. But it's not so in the case of imported cars. People who love using such brands are ready to pay for them," said Sanjay Kumar, auto consultant, Mandovi Motors.

Expensive to exorbitant

Economy: Mercedes C class, Audi A4 and BMW 3 series, costing between Rs 30 lakh and Rs 60 lakh. Mid-range: Mercedes Benz E class, Audi A6 and BMW 5 series cars, which range from Rs 70 lakh to Rs 1 crore. High-end:u00a0 Include BMW7 series, Audi8 and Mercedes cars that cost beyond
Rs 1 crore.

The list also includes Volvo cars, Bentley, Volkswagen, Rolls Royce, SUVs like Lexus, Pajero and sports cars like Ferrari.