India has potential to be in Maserati's top 10 global markets in mid term: Co official

MUMBAI: Italian luxury carmaker Maserati believes India has the potential to be among its top ten global markets in the mid term with the country's entrepreneurs driving its sales, according to the company's Head of Overseas Markets, Philippe Claverol. The company, which on Friday launched its GranTurismo model with prices starting at Rs 2.72 crore, is also studying the feasibility of introducing its electric vehicle range in India.

"Maserati is a luxury brand, so we don't look at huge volume for us. A big market for us is a market where we sell 500 cars a year... but I think in mid term, in few years, I think in India, we can reach this kind of 500 (units a year)," Claverol told PTI here on the sidelines of the launch.

He, however, said volume isn't "an objective in itself" for Maserati. He further said,"I know who are the top markets of Maserati worldwide. I think India can become one of the top 10 markets for Maserati in the mid term."

Currently, North America, Italy, Switzerland, China, Japan, Australia, Taiwan and the UAE are the top global markets for Maserati and India with less than 50 units sold last year is still a small market, he added.

Yet, Claverol said, India is an important market for Maserati.

"It is a land of entrepreneurs. A vast majority, 80 per cent of our customers in India are entrepreneurs," he said.

Also, India is a country with a lot of appreciation for luxury products, he said, adding "we feel that there is a good match". In order to enhance its presence in India, Maserati is expanding sales network, he said.

Maserati already has a dealership in Mumbai and opened a new one on Friday here in the national capital and will open one in Bengaluru later this year, Claverol said.

"We see that the North India market is bigger actually than the Mumbai market and we also think that Bengaluru is the third pillar. This dealership expansion is also because we want to go where the markets are in terms of volume," he said.

Asked about plans for launching electric vehicles in India, Claverol said Maserati has the electric version of the conventional engine models under the Folgore range globally and the company will study the feasibility of bringing it in India.

"We will, with our partners, start to look at how is the market, how to train our people, how to train the technicians, how to analyse, how to build the right offer, the pricing, the charging solution, and so on, and then, once we will be ready, we will look at the pricing, and we will obviously try to launch the Folgore range as well," he said.

Asked about the timeline for a possible launch of the electric range, he said,"The sooner, the better. The cars are available."