India Leading The Auto Market Including Super Luxury Segment
In a recent report by UNIDO International Yearbook of Industrial Statistics 2008, India ranks 12th in the overall standing of worlds top automakers. The emerging giant also ranks 4th behind Mexico, Korea and Iran among developing countries.
Not surprisingly so, what with India also leading the increase in numbers of millionaires that exceeded 100,000 at last count. Indian millionaires club is growing at an astonishing rate of 21 percent per year. These affluent people are also ready to show their wealth by way of sporting high end apparel brands and driving the latest luxury cars coming out of Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Audi, Porsche or Jaguars stable. In fact Indian auto industry has 
become the engine of world auto market growth with a consistent rate of 12 percent. The high end or luxury segment is growing at even higher rate and is estimated to grow above 100 percent this year over previous year.
For long, the German trio of Mercedes-Benz,BMW & Audi has dominated the luxury car market on a global scale and its not different in India either. Mercedes has opened shop in India way back in 1996 and been numero-uno till now. But it is now facing stiff competition from its traditional rivals - BMW & Audi. They are matching Mercedes model for model and even the highest end Mercedes Mayback (that cost Rs. 15 million onwards) is not safe. Of course it is the entry level luxury models like C Class, E Class of Mercedes, 3 Series, 5 Series of BMW and A4 of Audi have been selling like hot-cakes.
The rapid growth of the luxury segment is also attracting other players like Lexus, Porsche, Jaguar or even high end sports cars like Ferrari, Lamborghini, Bugatti and other smaller brands who plan to sell exported cars because their sales is not yet big enough to set up an assembly line here.
So I am expecting to see a Ferrari whiz past me anytime soon or a young couple going on tour with their sports BMW. 
