Aston Martin enters India with a big bang

British luxury car maker Aston Martin has officially launched in India its range by inaugurating its first dealership in Mumbai. Aston Martin will commence its presence in India with the new office in Mumbai in partnership with Performance Cars who are dealers for several luxury car makers.

The opening of the Aston Martin Mumbai showroom strengthens the company's global dealership network to a total of 134 dealers in 42 countries. As part of its expansion plans, it recently entered Brazil, Chile, Croatia, Zech Republic, Greece, Taiwan and Turkey.

The company will be importing its entire range of vehicles here including V8 Vantage Coupe, V8 Vantage Roadster, V12 Vantage, DB9 Coupe, DB9 Volante, DBS Coupe, DBS Volante and the four-door sports car, Rapide and the recently launched V8 Vantage S and the new Virage. The price range for these cars starts at around Rs.1.55 crore for the V8 and goes up to Rs.2.50 crore for the convertible DBS.

Speaking at the launch, Bill Donnelly, Director, Sales & After Sales, Aston Martin, said, "We will launch another dealership in New Delhi in end-May and then see how it goes from there. We are a high-end car maker and cater to the premium end of the luxury car segment providing bespoke and custom-made vehicles as well. We do not chase volumes." To illustrate the point, Mr. Donnelly said that in 97 years of operations, Aston Martin has produced only around 55,000 cars, "which is around the same number of cars that Toyota makes in three days." The limited edition One-77, of which only 77 units are being made, retails at Rs.20 crore. It sold more than 70 units world-wide and only a few are remaining. Aston Martin cars are made at its facility in Gaydon, UK and the four-door Aston Martin Rapide is sourced from the Magna Steyr factory in Graz Austria.

The company currently sells around 5,000 cars annually world-wide.

Lalit Choudhary, MD, Performance Cars, said, Aston Martin was aiming to sell 30 units in the first year. "Thereafter, the company plans to grow with the market. All the models will be available in India except the city car, Cygnet."

Source: The Hindu