Bentley India is set to transition its India operations under the Skoda Volkswagen Group India. Bentley Motors is a British luxury carmaker. It has been among the most opulent carmakers on the planet for decades now. Even among the elites, owning Bentley cars is somewhat rare. In India, we see Bentley cars in the garages of top Bollywood celebrities or business tycoons. Hence, the demand is clearly there but the overall sales volumes are still low. But due to the rapidly growing luxury Indian car market, Bentley is aiming at utilizing synergies with other carmakers who have a distinct presence in India.
Bentley To Sell Cars Under Volkswagen Group India
At the moment, Bentley India operates via the importer, Exclusive Motors. They have facilities in New Delhi, Mumbai and Hyderabad. Bentley Motors board member and acting CEO Jan-Henrik Lafrentz said in a recent interview with a select group of Indian media, “We are too small”, in reference to volumes in India. However, India has been recognized as, “The Biggest growth market”. Hence, synergizing with a global auto giant like the Volkswagen Group will ensure a wide network of service, parts availability, warehousing and homologation. Bentley’s regional director says that partners with expertise in luxury car retail will be preferred for this partnership.
Note that Volkswagen Group is one of the biggest automotive conglomerates in the world. In India, many premium luxury automobile houses operate under the VW umbrella. This includes the likes of the Porsche and Lamborghini. In recent times cars from both these carmakers have seen immense demand from the affluent Indians. Understandably, Bentley wants to leverage the reach and brand presence of VW Group in India to push its sales as well. Last year (2023), it sold 80 cars in India over 60% of which was the Bentayga SUV. On the other hand, Lamborghini and Porsche sold a respectable 103 units and 914 units, respectively in 2023.
Our View
It is fascinating to see how the top luxury carmakers operate in various parts of the world. It is clear that they sell a disproportionate amount of vehicles in different parts of the world. Hence, they need to focus their energies to devise innovative strategies to tap into all sorts of markets where they see potential. India is a prime example of this. The British carmaker is trying to utilize the reach of its parent company, the VW Group, to get access to the top personalities in India. If everything goes well, this process will take around 12-18 months to be implemented. I shall keep an eye out for more information in this case.
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