Aston Martin enters India

Aston Martin, the UK-based luxury and sports car maker, marked its entry into India today with the launch of its entire range. This includes the V8 Vantage Coupe, V8 Vantage Roadster, V12 Vantage, DB9 Coupe, DB9 Volante, V8 Vantage S, Virage and the four door sports car Rapide. The range starts from Rs 1.35 crore and goes up to Rs 20 crore.

At Rs 20 crore, the One-77 model is the most expensive in the company’s line-up presently. Aston will make only 77 units of the car, of which buyers have already booked 72. Senior executives stated negotiations with a few prospective Indian buyers are happening and hopes to close a deal soon. More than a dozen cars were booked by Indian customers even before the official launch. The company hopes to sell at least 30 units in the first year. Customers will have to wait anywhere between 2 weeks to two months to get delivery.

 

The company would launch a small city car in India next year, expected to be the most expensive small car ever in the country.

The Aston Martin Cygnet is a two-seater, built primarily for the European market and priced at ¤40,000 (Rs 26,00,000). The car was first unveiled as a concept in March last year.

The Cygnet will be brought to India as a fully built car and, hence, it is expected to attract duties and taxes which would effectively double its cost. At around Rs 5,200,000, the Cygnet will be the most expensive of its kind.

The most expensive compact car presently sold in the country is the Volkswagen (VW) Beetle priced at around Rs 2,680,000 (on-road Mumbai). This car too is imported as a fully built unit by VW.

“We will launch the Cygnet in India once we get homologation for the car. It is lengthy process but we will launch it in India next year. It will be the cheapest Aston Martin to own,” said Performance Cars Director Lalit Choudhary.

Performance Cars is a division of Infinity Cars, which also has a dealership of BMW cars in Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh. It is has been appointed as the official importer and distributor by Aston Martin.

Aston’s launch in India follows a flurry of similar launches by global premium automotive brands such as Maserati, Koenigsegg and Bugati. Bentley and Rolls-Royce too recently added a new models to their line-up.

India’s demand for such high-end cars has pushed their yearly sales to around 700-800 units annually with an average growth of around 30-50 per cent every year. More brands including Ferrari and Alfa Romeo are also expected to make their entry into India over the next 12 months.