Aston Martin Eyes Expansion In India Amid Rising Demand In Tier II And III Cities

British super luxury carmaker Aston Martin is bullish on the Indian market and is looking to expand its footprint to tap the growing demand which is coming even from Tier II and III cities, according to a company official.

The company, which on Thursday launched its all-new Vantage model in India priced at Rs 3.99 crore, plans to continue to bring models to the country simultaneously with the global launch.

"India is a very important and a promising market and hence you would see that they (Aston Martin) are launching all the models which are available globally in India as well," Aston Martin New Delhi Vice President - Operations, Anand told PTI here on the sidelines of the launch.

Aston Martin New Delhi is the official importer of Aston Martin cars to India.

"Next week, on Sept. 2, we are launching (globally) our V12 flagship, which is going to be under wraps on what it is going to be called... And for the first time, that car will also be available immediately for the Indian market as well," Anand said.

He further said the Indian market is seeing a potential growth of close to about 35 to 40% over the last two years, especially in the super luxury market that Aston Martin is present in.

The company sells a range of models from Vantage to SUV DBX priced between Rs 3.99 crore and Rs 4.99 crore in India.

"Aston Martin New Delhi is growing upwards of 90% over last year's numbers," Anand said without sharing absolute numbers citing restrictions due to the company's global policy.

Commenting on network expansion, he said, "Currently we have one showroom in Delhi and we're opening one more in Bangalore towards the end of next year.... We're going one step at a time." Anand further said, "We understand that the southern market is a very important market in India itself."

"The automotive space, especially the super luxury sports car market, is growing in the south and faster than the North."

In some aspects, he said, "We are getting beautiful traction from tier two and tier three cities, which is a great significance even for us to notice and hence we're starting with Bangalore."

Explaining the reasons behind the growth of the super luxury car market in India, he said the country's economy and the automotive market has been growing over the last three years.

"Post Covid, we've seen numerous changes in the Indian market. We have actually seen a shift towards the super luxury segment of things. I think the whole economy also started shifting upwards," he added.

The acceptance of super luxury in India has grown over the last three years. This is attributed to all the brands -- Aston Martin and even competition brands and everybody is growing at a steady pace, he said.

"We're seeing newer cars coming in. Brands are being a lot more aggressive with India as a market for the customer base as acceptance is a lot more now," Anand said, adding that customers have also become more discerning and expect what is available globally to be in India immediately as well, he added.