Rolls-Royce returns to woo India's well-heeled

Rolls-Royce, the preferred automobile of erstwhile maharajas, has opened its first dealership in India to position itself for the well-heeled consumers of a rapidly developing economy.

The company expects to sell 10-12 of its luxury Phantom cars a year in India to "ultra high net worth individuals," which would make the market similar in size to Australia or Singapore. It sells 45-55 cars a year in China through three dealers.

Priced upwards of US$648,000 (NZ$1.02 million) the Phantom found its first Indian buyer last year in a stud farm owner whose chauffeurs received special training from a Rolls-Royce representative from London.

"We are being very pragmatic about India: it has always been on the radar, and is really our last port of call in Asia," said Colin Kelly, Asia Pacific director of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. "The brand hasn't been here for 51 years, so our immediate priority is to increase visibility," he said at the showroom, housed in a spanking new luxury mall in the country's commercial capital, Mumbai.

Buyers of Rolls-Royce models were likely to be self-made entrepreneurs, people in the performing arts, sportsmen and those with "old money", Kelly said.

"Someone who has US$20 million in cash and in assets, and likes cars, loves beautiful design, craftsmanship and engineering ... that's the kind of person we're looking at."

"Anyone that buys a Rolls-Royce has to feel good about how they've earned their money."

DaimlerChrysler faced some embarrassment last year when it emerged that a betel tycoon who had bought a US$1.21 million Maybach car as a birthday gift for his daughter was wanted by Interpol for questioning about alleged links to the underworld.

But apart from tax returns, potential Rolls-Royce buyers may also be daunted by the chaotic traffic, potholed roads and inadequate parking in Mumbai.

Premium cars make up only about 3 per cent of India's fast-expanding passenger vehicles market, which is expected to nearly double to more than 2 million units a year by 2010.

- REUTERS