Last Updated : 15 March 2010 at 18:55 IST

UK’s Bently targets high-end luxury market in India

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BANGALORE (Commodity Online): British luxury car manufacturer Bentley Motors Inc is aiming for India’s high-end super luxury car market as the company has laid out plans for rolling out two models priced over Rs.1 crore besides launching its grand tourer Mulsanne here.

The company, on Saturday launched the Rs.2.90 crore Mulsanne for the first time in India to take care of the high-end super luxury car lovers. The Mulsanne, which carries a 6.7-litre V8 twin-turbo charged petrol engine, is handcrafted at Bentley's Crewe that is the UK plant.

Bentley Regional Director (Middle East, Africa and India) Chris Buxton said, assuming that the super luxury car segment in India will grow again this year, said that on an average Bentley will sell around 25-50 units in the nation. India accounts for around 2 per cent of Bentley's global sales and it sees the volume increasing. The Indian super luxury car segment is of around 200-300 units.

Bentley will start global production of the Mulsanne in the second half of this year. According to rough estimates about 600 units of the Mulsanne will be produced annually for the global market. The allocation of the Muslanne units for India is yet to be decided. Global bookings for the vehicle even for the year 2011 have already been received. Bentley used to produce the Mulsanne between 1980 and 1992, but the new car will be entirely different from the earlier version.

The company will launch the convertible GTC Supersport in India within the next six months and it may be priced over Rs. one crore. The GTC Supersport was launched during the Geneva Auto Expo earlier this month.

Assembling the car requires a massive 660 man-hours. Based on individuals' needs the super luxury sedan will be personalized. In India, the delivery of the car will begin by the end of 2010.

India being the center of luxury, the country of the former Maharajas who were fond of custom-made luxury, Bentley has been receiving heartening response from its customers. Buxton said that the launch of the Mulsanne will truly delight their loyal and discerning customers.