Lamborghini bets big on India's long-term potential

NEW DELHI: Italian super luxury automaker Automobili Lamborghini expects exponential growth in India with the potential to become a top market in the Asia Pacific region in the long-term, driven by customers who are the youngest globally, according to a senior company official.

With the company selling a record 103 units in India in 2023, Automobili Lamborghini Asia Pacific Region Director, Francesco Scardaoni said his wish is to cross the annual sales mark of 150 units in the country in 2026.

"In terms of volume, India is number 14th in the world and number sixth in Asia Pacific. In terms of percentage it is the fastest growing market," Scardaoni told PTI.

In 2023, Lamborghini crossed the 10,000 units worldwide mark and at the same time in India the company crossed the 100-cars mark. In the first half of 2024, deliveries worldwide are still showing growth compared to previous year and India is on a similar trend, he added.

Last year, China was Lamborghini's biggest market in the Asia Pacific region with 845 units, followed by Japan (660), Korea (434), Australia (263) and Taiwan (131).

When asked how far can India rise in the rankings of its top markets in the region, Scardaoni said, "It is still a long way to go to reach number three, two and number one but again we believe that in the long run for a country like India, it is possible... I believe that in the medium-term India can grow very fast." He further said, "We believe that India has all the right indicators in place to let us think that there would be really an exponential growth."

Asked when Lamborghini could cross annual sales of 150 units in India, he said, "My wish would be 2026. This would be my wish, when will it happen."

Explaining the rationale behind the company's bullishness on India, he said, "It is related to the economy. It is the fastest growing economy in the world and it is important to also see that the customers here in India are the youngest among worldwide customers." He further said, "India is a country of start-ups, so there are a lot of young customers coming from new economy start-ups.

India became an incubator for start-ups." The average age of Indian customers for Lamborghini is below 40 years, while in the top markets like the US and Europe the average ranges between 40-45 years.

Besides, Scardaoni said the Indian government is also putting a lot of effort in developing the country's roads, infrastructure.

"We see an amazing trend of developing and connecting the main cities with new highways, which are huge projects. We believe that once those infrastructures are completed this will boost the super sports car market even more," he added.

Lamborghini sells a range of super luxury cars with prices starting from Rs 3.8 crore in India.

In terms of current demand from India, he said, "We have a situation which is pretty much solid in India where the production is well covered till 2025."