High taxation limiting growth of super luxury car market in India: Lamborghini Chairman

High taxation is limiting the expansion of the super luxury car market in India, which otherwise is on a growth path, according to Italian automaker Automobili Lamborghini’s Chairman and CEO Stephan Winkelmann.

Lamborghini, which sells a range of super luxury cars with prices starting from Rs 3.16 crore in India, had recorded its best-ever sales in the country in 2021 at 69 units, beating its previous record in 2019 when it sold a total of 52 units.

“India is a market for us which is on a growth path like most of the markets we have around the world,” Winkelmann said in a virtual interaction.

When asked what is limiting the growth of super luxury car sales in the country, he said, “If we come to the specific of the Indian market, it’s clear that the Indian market has, like other high taxation markets, a limit in growth. This is something we have to understand, if we look at what is happening in India.”

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However, Winkelmann said, “We’re very satisfied with (our) performance as we always said we are not running for a certain number. We want to keep momentum also in the future.”

At present, automobiles are taxed at 28 per cent GST with additional cess ranging from 1 per cent to 22 per cent depending on the type of vehicle. Cars imported as completely built units (CBUs) attract customs duty ranging between 60 per cent and 100 per cent depending on engine size and cost, insurance and freight (CIF) value being less or more than USD 40,000.

On the impact of the global economic slowdown, he said while India is a huge market “in the sense of population”, Lamborghini is selling less than 100 cars a year.

“So it’s not really a big change even if the economy is slowing down in India, we will see what is going to happen but for the time being we are not seeing any negative impact in respect of our brand,” Winkelmann added.

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Globally, in the January-September 2022 period, Lamborghini recorded an 8 per cent rise in its deliveries at 7,430 units on a year-on-year basis.

“We have an order portfolio that already covers the first quarter of 2024, and this allows us to work with peace of mind, looking thoughtfully ahead to the challenges facing us in the future, such as the first step towards hybridisation from 2023,” he said.