Rolls Royce sees India emerging as its most important market in the next 5 to 10 years, and is looking at using parent BMW’s supplier network in India to source components. The super-exclusive car manufacturer, which sells cars on the basis of pre-determined quotas in low-volume markets, seems to have realised the potential of India, the second-fastest growing economy in the world.
“We’re open-minded, and being within the BMW group network, we have access to all the purchasing power the group has and engineering opportunity that exists,”Tom Purves, chief executive, Rolls Royce said. “In the long term, India represents a phenomenal business opportunity because we have seen a general movement of our business from the West to the East, to markets like India and China that have played a crucial part in the growth Rolls Royce has enjoyed,” Mr Purves added.
The market for his cars is shifting from the West to the East with markets such as India and China contributing more to its growth. Rolls Royce cars are custom-made at its Goodwood factory in the UK, and the talk of sourcing components from a foreign country is a first for the carmaker. India has improved its contribution to Rolls Royce’s overall business substantially. That’s good news because globally the company has seen a 25% dip.