Hyderabad: High-end luxury carmaker Bentley India expects 15 per cent growth for the ongoing year despite economic disruptions such as demonetisation and GST affecting the segment, officials said here on Friday. Speaking to the media after the launch of Bentley’s third showroom and service centre in India at Hyderabad, Bentley Motors regional manager (Middle East, Africa and India) Neil Wilford said, “In the past year, India saw two major economic disruptions in demonetisation and GST which affected a lot of industries, including the entire luxury car segment. I think we suffered the same as everyone else.”
He, however, was hopeful that the new Continental GT, which will be available next year, will help push Bentley’s sales around the world to ‘somewhere close to the three-digit mark’ Bentley India’s sole dealer in India, Exclusive Motors, was careful when speaking about the growth projection. “Last year we saw a growth of around 15 per cent. We expect to see similar number this year around too,” said Exclusive Motors managing director Satya Bagla.
When asked about the reason behind the foray into Hyderabad, Mr Bagla said, “Bentley India has been selling cars to Hyderabad for some time now. So, we decided it was best for us to expand to Hyderabad as it would also help us cater to south India better.” Exclusive Motors, which runs the showrooms in Delhi and Mumbai, said they have no immediate expansion plans. “Currently, we are looking at a four-year period to prepare for our foray into a fourth city. But if any market matures faster than expected, then we will fasten our plans accordingly.”
