German luxury sports car maker Porsche said that it plans to expand its presence in the country and enter new markets such as Chennai and Hyderabad, as increasing number of Indians are buying its cars.
“Hyderabad and Chennai are markets which you can’t really miss. Right now we have service centres in these regions, but we want to come out with a full-fledged dealership,” said Pavan Shetty, Director, Porsche India, in an interview.
Porsche on Saturday unveiled the latest version of its sports car Porsche 911 in Bengaluru. In Karnataka, the basic retail price for the standard 911 Carrera base model starts at Rs.14,486,000 (ex-showroom).
Porsche said the 911 features entirely new turbocharged power units evolved from the racetrack to the function on the road. Sprinting from zero to 100 kilometres per hour in 4.2 seconds, the new 911 Carrera is two-tenths of a second faster than its predecessor, according to Porsche.
The company said the interior of the new model had been updated with an enhanced communication management system. It includes a multi-touch seven-inch display, which offers an expanded range of functions and intuitive controls similar to those used in operating a smartphone.
Mr. Shetty said the customers in India buying their sports car were primarily businessmen and young entrepreneurs. “They are buying it so that they can use it on a daily basis,” said Mr. Shetty.
Value consciousHe said an increasing number in India were travelling abroad to regions such as the U.S., Europe and the Middle East and were exposed to products like luxury cars.
“I think Indians are very aspirational, but what sets Indians apart is the fact that they are value conscious, I don't say price conscious,” said Mr. Shetty.
He said though Porsche had embraced electric cars, he doesn’t expect to see self-driving Porsche anytime soon. “People buy Porsche because they like to drive. It (self-driving) is not easy, we are challenging the culture and what people have been doing for years.”
