The luxury giants, BMW, Mercedes and Audi, are now targeting the youth who are aspirational and do not want to wait long to own a luxury car. The young people today are earning good money and are ready to shell out for that extra luxury they want to enjoy. The automajors are thus coming up with a range of cars which will be priced in the bracket of 25 lakhs to 30 lakhs. Currently, all the three brands have catered to 30 lakhs plus range. Introduction of the sub 30 lakh segment will boost up the volumes as a major chunk of the potential buyers lie here.
“Consumers no longer want to compromise on the brand. The young consumer wants to touch a luxury brand far earlier in life and not settle for a mass brand,” Debashis Mitra, Director, Sales & Marketing, Mercedes Benz India said.
Well, the plans are already in execution as Mercedes would be launching the B-class which is positioned as a compact sports tourer and will later launch the the A-class, a small family hatchback. The B-class is expected to hit the roads by this September whereas the A-class would be rolled out by the third quarter of 2013. Audi too has the A3 in mind for next year while BMW is coming up with a totally different platform for such cheaper models. By 2015, we would also see the 1-series going head to head with the Mercedes A-class.
With the launch of Mini, BMW has already entered the premium small car segment. The Bavarian manufacturer is taking every step to ensure that the cult brand Mini is well established in the country. Perhaps, the strategy is like that of an inverted pyramid where the companies have first focussed on the smaller segment that can afford highly priced cars and are now moving towards the large market that can afford the small cars. It is indeed good news for the young customers who will be benefited as they can now get a small compact car with the brand value of a luxury car while the manufacturers will be happy to boost their volumes considerably.
Source – Economic Times
