E-commerce entrepreneurs, start-up founders drive Lamborghini India sales

At a time when the automotive segment is going through a tumultuous time, super luxury carmaker Lamborghini says that it has not encountered any slowness in demand. Instead, the Italian automaker says, almost a quarter of its sales in the country are driven by non-metros, including smaller cities such as Hubli, Vijayawada, Madurai and Kanpur. 

A lot of the demand is coming from e-commerce entrepreneurs, start-up founders, first-generation businesspersons and stock market investors, says Lamborghini India Head Sharad Agarwal. In the country, the five states in South India — Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Telangana and Tamil Nadu — now contribute about 50 per cent of its business. The only Indian to buy one of the 63 cars of the limited edition Lamborghini Aventador SVJ 63 is from Bengaluru.

“As India is unleashing entrepreneurship and the way people are coming up in the tech world and financial industries, it is an important market for us. First generation entrepreneurs, e-commerce and start-up founders and people who invest in stock markets contribute to about 20 per cent of our sales volume,” Agarwal says. 

In 2019, when the ultra-luxury car segment was down 20 per cent in the country, Lamborghini continued with its growth momentum and sold 50 Urus models. In 2018, the company had sold 45 cars in the country. The company is now gearing up to launch the racing and hybrid editions of the Urus SUV this year.

Even though India accounts for less than 1 per cent of its global sales, Lamborghini has established a five-member team in the country. Matteo Ortenzi, Lamborghini’s chief executive officer for APAC region, says the aim is to assist Indian buyers and give them the same international experience. “India is a strategic market for us and as a lot of ultra-rich people are coming up; it shows there is room for growth.” 

While the Lamborghini’s flagship Huracan Evo is priced at Rs 3.73 crore and Huracan Evo Spyder at Rs 4.1 crore, the company is going to add a new model to the Huracan family in 2020 to amplify the buzz among potential customers.