How do you see the growth of the used luxury car market sector?
The pre-owned car market has been growing over the years. For instance, during pre-covid times, the ratio of the sale of new and pre-owned cars was 1:1.2, but after the pandemic, it currently stands at 1:1.72. The same trend has been observed in the pre-owned luxury car segment. The future looks very anticipatory for the pre-owned luxury car segment, and the market will eventually grow. The aspiration among people for owning a pre-owned luxury car has seen a trajectory of growth, which will further fuel the market in the coming years.
The pre-owned segment is quite un-organised, despite having the presence of renowned brands like yours. Your thoughts on why India’s market is slow and fragmented.
The lack of a substantial number of organized players in the market is hampering the growth of the pre-owned luxury car segment, as people usually find it uncomfortable buying pre-owned luxury cars from unorganized players. This is majorly due to several reasons, be it trust issues or vehicle servicing hassles they might face in the future.
Therefore more and more organized players need to come into the market and provide one-stop solutions for pre-owned luxury cars like we do. It will help in tackling the situation of trust deficit in first-time buyers.
In your view, what are the elements fueling the rapid expansion of the pre-owned luxury cars sector?
The demand for pre-owned luxury cars have increased effectively, thanks to the pandemic and chip shortages. Also, the production of vehicles has slowed compared to the last few years as companies are now manufacturing cars on an as-per- demand basis only, which has stretched the waiting period long. The situation has directly impacted the availability of the new cars, coupled with prices going high, which eventually has boosted the demand for pre-owned cars.
Challenges and impact on the industry during the COVID and has that affected your business? Also, what about post covid, has the situation changed in the sense of an increase or decrease in demand?
Yes, the time was challenging for us in terms of business. However, post the pandemic, things slightly took favour on our side, we witnessed a huge surge in the demand for the pre-owned luxury car, which has led to the growth in our business. The other primary reason for the elevation of this market is the aspiration factor; people are willing to spend money on living a luxurious lifestyle, be it because of increased buying capacity or the availability of pre-owned luxury cars at affordable prices range.
As OEMs are foraying into the used car market, how will it affect the organised players in the industry?
OEMs are definitely foraying into the used car market, and I would say that it is upright for the overall industry if more organised players enters the market. More and more consumers will then show their faith in buying a pre-owned luxury car, which will benefit the industry. The advantage we prevail over the OEMs is that we have cars from all the top luxury car brands, offering a wide range of collections to end consumers.
What are the most important policy changes that this sector requires?
For the pre-owned luxury car sector, I would like to suggest that instead of the 10-year scrappage policy for diesel cars in Delhi-NCR, these luxury cars should be judged on the pollution level. Because most of the time these cars are in great condition and have not clocked a lot of miles as well, even after 10 years. I think a stringent fitness test for these vehicles will help the industry and won’t cause any harm to the environment as well. If the cars don’t meet the emission criteria, then it should be scrapped, but if they do meet the criteria; the vehicles should be allowed to be driven on the road.
The government is pushing EV mobility adoption among consumers; do you think there will be a separate pre-owned market in the future?
Any plans to explore the segment in near future? See, we are a pre-owned luxury car company, and we cater to the demands of the consumers as per their choices. So if there is a need in the market regarding pre-owned luxury EV vehicles, then we will explore that segment also. Perhaps, I don’t think there will be any discrete market for EVs. The demand for EVs and feul cars will go hand in hand for in the future.
What about the Tier 2 and tier 3 market, is the demand increasing or decreasing for Luxury Cars or Pre- Owned Luxury Cars specifically?
The demand for pre-owned luxury cars in Tier 2 and Tier 3 is definitely increasing. Players like us in the market that have a presence in these cities are providing a one-stop solution to buyers. The consumers have developed trust and are looking to explore options in the luxury segments. We are seeing a growth for pre-owned luxury cars in these markets.
What is the future plan for Luxury Ride?
We want to open several new showrooms in southern and central parts of India. We are working on a few things, as soon as they are finalised we will come up with our showrooms in more cities. Our aim is to make Luxury Ride the biggest shareholder in the pre-owned luxury car market.
