New Delhi;
Italian super sports car maker Lamborghini is looking at a record year in India in terms of sales, riding on a V-shaped recovery in demand post Covid-related disruptions and positive sentiments in view of strong vaccination drive, according to a senior company official.
The company, which sells a range of super luxury cars priced between Rs 3.15 crore and Rs 6.33 crore, is looking to beat its best-ever performance in the country recorded in 2019 when it sold a total of 52 units. It is already witnessing over 20 per cent growth in its business in 2021 as compared to 2019.
''What we are seeing is a strong V-shaped recovery, demand rebounding back to the pre-second (Covid) wave level. We are also seeing that there is a strong confidence, which is also coming to the market driven by the strong vaccination drive,'' Lamborghini India Head Sharad Agarwal told PTI.
Stating that the company is ''on track'' to beat its record of 2019, he said, ''When we look at the first half (H1) of this year, we are already more than 20 per cent of the target that we have set for this year.'' Compared to the H1 of 2019, Agarwal said,
''In the H1 of this year we are plus 20 per cent in terms of the new order intake, we are plus 20 per cent in terms of the customer delivery.''
He further said, ''It is giving us positive feedback that yes, we are on the right track to have another record year in terms of business performance in the year 2021.'' This, he said, is despite the challenges faced in the second quarter of 2021 when the devastating second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic hit the country.
While the uncertainty of the third wave looms, Agarwal said there is an anticipation that the impact on human lives may be limited because of the strong vaccination drive which is going on, thereby making the outlook bullish.
''I anticipate the segment to have good positive growth…as a brand, we have always maintained a positive growth trajectory, except 2020, where we were hit by supply side as well as demand side,'' he added.
Lamborghini India will continue to work in a positive way so as to bring the growth in the country and the market, he said adding, ''We still see that India offers an incredible opportunity in terms of growth, especially the super luxury segment as the size of the segment is still very small. It's still in its infancy and we want to focus on doing the right things.''
Meanwhile,automobile exports from India recovered in the first quarter with all vehicle segments, including passenger vehicles and two-wheelers, witnessing growth following an improvement in the pandemic situation across various international markets.
As per the latest SIAM data, total vehicle exports during the April-June quarter this fiscal stood at 14,19,430 units as compared with 4,36,500 units in the same period of 2020-21 which saw massive disruptions due to the COVID lockdowns across the country, hampering sales as well overseas shipments.
SIAM Director General Rajesh Menon told PTI that while two-wheeler shipments were better than previous three years, passenger vehicles, three-wheelers and commercial vehicles export numbers were yet to catch up with numbers in the first quarter of 2018-19 fiscal.
"If we just compare export numbers of Q1 of 2021-22, two-wheelers have done better than previous three years, however, the total number of passenger vehicles, three-wheelers and commercial vehicles exports were higher in Q1 of 2018-19," he noted.
In the April-June quarter, passenger vehicle exports from the country stood at 1,27,115 units as against 43,619 units in the same period of 2020-21.
Passenger car exports stood at 79,376 units, utility vehicle shipments at 47,151 units while van exports were at 588 units.
Maruti Suzuki India led the passenger vehicle segment with exports of 45,056 units followed by Hyundai Motor India which shipped 29,881 units during the period.