British sports car-maker Aston Martin announced its first foray into India’s booming luxury market on Friday with the opening of its first dealership in the country located in the city of Mumbai. India’s car market posted sales of 1.87 million units in 2010 recording an impressive 25 percent increase over the previous year. More importantly for brands like Aston Martin, the premium car sector grew by a staggering 70 percent last year.
Aston Martin’s Chief Commercial Officer, Michael van der Sande said, “India represents a new opportunity for us and as part of our programme of growing the reach of the global Aston Martin dealership network; this expansion brings our brand to a different audience in a new market.”
The open its first showroom and after-sales facilities in India, Aston Martin tied up with Performance Cars (a division of Infinity Cars Pvt. Ltd.). The company also plans to open a second dealership in New Delhi in the near future.
Deep-pocketed customers in India will be able to view and test-drive selected models from the entire range of V8 Vantage Coupe and Roadster, V12 Vantage, DB9 Coupe and Volante, DBS Coupe and Volante and the Rapide four-door sports saloon. These models will be joined by the recently launched V8 Vantage S and the new Virage.
With the opening of the Aston Martin Mumbai showroom, the British company’s global dealership network reaches a total of 134 dealers in 42 countries. Aston Martin recently entered into Brazil, Chile, Croatia, Czech Republic, Greece, Taiwan and Turkey, while it continues to seek growth in new and emerging markets including China and the Middle East.
Earlier this month, Maserati also announced plans to open its first Indian showroom in Mumbai later this year, which will be followed by a second dealership in New Delhi in early 2012, and five more showrooms throughout the country by 2015.
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