India’s luxury market is growing fast and furious all thanks to the growing tribe of young, rich Indians who wish to splurge money on fast cars, driving their sales to record highs. In fact, such is the demand for these luxury cars such as the Lamborghini that as per one report, one will have to wait until 2028 as the Italian supercar maker has been sold out in India until 2027.

Numbers show that premium automobile sales are at their peak in India, with millennials and Gen Z ultra-rich revving up the numbers with their craving for luxury and fast cars.

So, what’s going on? We get you the full story.

Accelerated sales of Maybachs and Lamborghinis

If numbers are to be believed, then India’s cravings for luxury cars aren’t slowing down. In fact, the opposite effect can be seen. In 2024, the Maybach, which sells upwards of Rs 3 crore, sold almost 10 cars every week across the country. That’s a whopping 145 per cent growth from the previous year.

According to data from the German carmaker, which is a sub-brand of Mercedez Benz, it sold a total of 21,800 units globally last year, of which over 500 were sold in India.

Commenting on this rise, global head Daniel Lescow said, “Maybach has a history of over 100 years in India, and it is simply amazing to see how the brand has developed and evolved. Just last year, we saw a growth of 145 per cent in our India sales as numbers crossed 500 cars, making it one of the fastest-growing countries for us globally.”

And it’s not just the Maybach which has seen a rise in sales. Italian supercar maker Lamborghini has also seen an increase in its sales in the country. The Italian supercar marque sold 113 units in India, a 10 per cent increase over its previous best-ever performance of 2023. Its global tally was 10,687 units.

“India, for us, is an asset … there is a huge potential for the future. There is the idea of having maybe a fourth dealership but this is still something in the early stages,” Lamborghini CEO Stephan Winkelmann even told reporters at a virtual roundtable.

India’s young revving sales

So, who’s buying up all these cars? According to the two carmakers, young India — mostly 35 to 40-year-olds — are purchasing Maybachs and Lamborghinis, driving up their sales.

Autocar experts note that these luxury cars are even more in demand than others as they hold aspirational value. Bollywood celebrities such as Ranveer Singh and Kriti Sanon own the Mercedes Maybach GLS600, which sells for more than Rs 3 crore. Other celebs such as Shraddha Kapoor also made news when they purchased the Lamborghini Huracan Tecnica, which is priced around Rs 4 crore. As a result of this, millennials and Gen Zs have also lined up to purchase these luxury cars as they are viewed as status symbols.

In fact, Maybach’s Lescow also noted that the average age of an Indian customer is under 40 years – 38, to be precise. “There’s a deep interest in the brand, and Indian customers are very knowledgeable about the products. I was impressed by the maturity around luxury here,” he was quoted as telling the Times of India.

Lamborghini’s Winkelmann also noted a similar pattern. He stated that the average age of a Lamborghini buyer in India is below 40 years — making it the youngest market after China.

He’s quoted as telling Reuters, “You have a lot of start-ups in India which are very successful. You have very young, high net worth individuals who are stepping into this type of car. So this is positive for us.”

India’s growing luxury market

The rising sales of these cars are in line with India’s changing attitude towards luxury purchases. The younger generations are spending more with lesser guilt, revving the sales of all things luxury — cars, watches, bags and more.

For instance, in FY24, Louis Vuitton India Retail saw a 13 per cent jump in income from operations at Rs 811.6 crore. Meanwhile, the maker of the famous Birkin bag, Hermes India Retail and Distributors, sold Rs 316 crore worth of luxury bags and accessories in FY24, growing 27 per cent, as per a Mint report.

According to Euromonitor International, the
luxury market in India climbed to $8.5 billion in 2022 (Rs 70,000 crore), up by $2.5 billion (Rs 20,500 crore) in the preceding year. And according to a June 2024 report by BDA Partners, India’s luxury sector is expected to more than triple by 2030, driven by increasing discretionary spending and a growing number of high-net-worth individuals.

And most experts note that this increase is partly owing to young India, who believes in spending rather than saving. Perhaps, it is because of this that several luxury brands have appointed Indians — think Deepika Padukone, Alia Bhatt — as their
brand ambassadors, hoping it would further seduce Indians to purchase more.

With inputs from agencies