MUMBAI -- Tata Motors' British subsidiary Jaguar Land Rover introduced its premium Discovery Sport sport utility vehicle in India and is confident of successfully competing against German car makers BMW, Audi and Mercedes Benz, which dominate the premium car market.
More than 300 units of the Discovery Sport have already been pre-booked, and the company is hoping to clock three to four times that number by the end of the year. The Discover Sport diesel is priced at 4.61 million rupees to 6.21 million rupees ($69,000 to $93,000).
"This car has Land Rover's most authentic four-wheel technology. This is a clear differentiator. The second proposition we are giving is versatility" such as with a 5+2 seat arrangement, said Jaguar Land Rover India President Rohit Suri. "Having received so much pre-booking even before the price was announced, we are confident of taking on the Germans."
The car is being manufactured at the company's plant in the western Indian city of Pune and sells its cars through 22 dealers.
However, IHS Automotive Principal Analyst Anil Sharma reckons Jaguar Land Rover will have to work on expanding its dealerships in India if it wants to truly take on the German carmakers.
"A great product is not enough," Sharma said. "The dealership network is good for a luxury car maker but is not good enough. There is a very big market to be tapped in Tier 1 and Tier 2 cities and that is where German automakers are expanding their presence."
Mercedes has more than 60 outlets across India, while Audi and BMW sell their vehicles through more than 40 dealers each.
According to ratings agency ICRA, the Indian luxury car market is still in a nascent stage, but is poised for strong growth.
With annual volume of about 33,000 units, luxury cars account for less than 1.5% of India's overall domestic car sales, much lower than other BRICs (Brazil, Russia, India and China) countries as well as the global average, ICRA said in a note in June.
"However, luxury car OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) are betting on long-term demand potential and rising aspiration as well as income level of Indian upper and upper-middle class segment," the note said. "We ... expect luxury car segment to triple in volume from current level by 2020."
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