Automobili Lamborghini, the well known Italian sportscar maker, has set up its first outlet in Mumbai. Situated at Prabhadevi area of the posh Southern Mumbai, this new dealership will be operated by Autohangar, which already holds the status of being the biggest Mercedes Benz dealer in the city. Lamborghini is a brand owned by Volkswagen Group and admired across the world for its range of refined sports cars. VW will now try to establish a wholly owned National Sales Company (NSC) in the country.
This is the company's second showroom in the country, after the unit run by Exclusive Motors located in New Delhi, where the Aventador broke cover in Indian market. The new dealership will enable the Italian car maker to cater to the customers based in Western India, even as Exclusive Motors continues to serve those located in Northern India. It is expected that the company will also open an outlet in South India in coming times.
President and Chief Executive Officer, Automobili Lamborghini, Stephen Winkelmann was present to inaugurate the new outlet based in the Maharashtrian capital. Speaking about the prospects of the Raging Bull in recent times, he commented that the company has set a target of selling close to 50 supercars by 2015 in the country.
Currently, Lamborghini offers both of its supercars in the domestic market, the Gallardo as well as the Aventador. The former runs on the powerful 5.2 L V10 engine and costs more than Rs. 2 crores in the country. On the other hand, the latter is powered by the 6.5 L V12 motor and bears a price tag of approximately Rs. 4 crores.
In the past few years, supercar and sportscar manufacturers like Aston Martin, Ferrari and Maserati have entered the domestic automotive market with their full portfolios in order to cater to the demands of the Indian buyers. However, their sales have not picked up due to factors like infrastructural restrictions in terms of driveability of the roads for low slung sportscars and supercars, which is not likely to improve much in coming times. This is the reason why performance car manufacturers like Maserati and Lamborghini are venturing into the Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) segment to improve sales.
At the 2012 Beijing Motor Show, Lamborghini showcased the concept version of its upcoming SUV, named the Urus. Winkelmann anticipates that this model will perform well in terms of sales once launched in India. It will be manufactured at the sole Lamborghini factory in the world, which is located at Sant’Agata Bolognese, Italy. In an interview, he has also stated that the youth of India is the key sales growth driver in the country.
